The Titan Hypothesis
by WolfKidBirdGirl
Summary: "This world does not deserve your sacrifice, Prime. It has failed as a planet. You have failed as its protector, and in time, your adversaries, the Decepticons, will have failed as its rulers. Your species, as well as the human race, will not make it past judgment day. Rest assured that I will destroy the remnants however I see fit."
1. Chained

**Here it is! The start of the finale – once again, I'm going to suggest that anyone new read the Sterminio Principle and the Variasi Theory. **

**For those of you who've been kind enough to stick with me from the very beginning, here's your reward. I hope this one lives up to your expectations, especially when it comes to the twists and turns I have planned. **

**I do not own Transformers: Prime.**

* * *

"…I swear, I about passed out when I ran into him. Tall, slender, silver hair," Miko gushed. "Anyway, enough about the looks. He, like, passed by me, right? So I keep going, thinking 'huh, what kind of guy wears an outfit like that?' I mean, green pants with a sweatshirt too tight for him? Ugh!"

"You're getting off track, Miko," Jack said tersely.

"Right, right," the girl leaped from the couch, boots landing hard against the ground. She stuck her hands on her hips and executed a fake pout, saying, "So I keep walking, and walking, and I turn this corner. I start heading towards the café, when I see it. This big, burly dude grabbing this girl – a pretty girl – and flinging her over his shoulder."

Raf leaned forward, intrigued. "What happened next?"

"He wrecked a bunch of people trying to get out. Then silver-haired wondered was there, tackling the guy to the ground. Then someone started shooting. I don't know what happened next – I started running."

Miko finished the story with a sigh, sinking into the couch.

Two humans and five Autobots stared, transfixed.

The lights in the silo flickered, casting an eerie silence over the entire base. Miko, who was twirling a strand of pink hair with her finger, kicked one foot up against the table before her and watched their expressions with her own satisfied mien, as if she'd just told the most important story in the world.

Ratchet, stumbling over his words, said, "I'm surprised you have the audacity to call that 'exciting,' Miko," lip plates pulled into a thin line and he turned back to the monitor. "Considering all the other situations you've gotten yourself into."

"You're just jealous you weren't there, doc bot," Miko called, grinning toothily. She turned back to the Autobots crowded around her, staring mainly at Optimus. Her face fell as she said, all serious business, "But…we should totally look into this, right? I mean, between you all, that guy looked freakishly familiar."

"A café shooting isn't something we can spend valuable time investigating," Optimus rumbled. "The local police force should be able to handle it – Agent Fowler has an undercover operative working there, I believe. If he finds anything of suspicion…"

"…He'll report it back to us," Arcee finished. Her optics lingered over Jack's hunched form for a moment, and the teenager looked up, pain creasing his normally smooth brow. "Besides, I think that we've participated in enough human-related events these past three weeks," she cracked her knuckles. "Hate to say it, but I'm ready to smash some con's."

"They've been silent for a while," Jack mumbled, running fingers through his hair. His back felt stiff, and Arcee's concern seemed to make it worse. He didn't need Optimus to confirm his statement. Megatron or Silas or any other major enemy hadn't even made a strike. It was weird. It was unsettling, and the lack of another relic sighting made it seem as if the world around them had come to a permanent still.

It didn't help that he was spending all of his after school time at the Autobot base. A part of him longed to go home, but Optimus and Arcee both had insisted that until his mom returned home, he was to stay in the Autobots field of vision.

The events of last week had been entirely too disturbing for them to do anything else.

His mom was in the hospital, being treated for a stab wound she'd inflicted upon herself. It had been a bold move, a stupid move, a crazy move. But the mind-control device had made her have to stab someone – mainly Jack – or something, so she'd chosen the alternative to killing her son. Killing – at least, trying to kill – herself.

If Howard Darby, who was now labeled as mentally unstable by the government, had not interfered with Jack's perfectly abnormal life, he would have been fine_. Peachy_. But he'd come out of nowhere as a follower of M.E.C.H and a friend of Silas, which was the worst anyone could be.

He'd gotten one of Miko's best friends killed. He'd almost managed to subdue Optimus, and had instructed that Soundwave, also under the mind control device, murder Arcee. Because of him, his mother had been teetering on the edge of life and death for days.

But all of that was nothing compared to the feeling of absolute trepidation Jack had felt when Agent Fowler, formally dressed and grey as a tombstone, had called Jack in the dead of night.

Howard Darby's body had never been found in the old warehouse. Just a dried, massive puddle of blood. No fragments, no ash, nothing. Fowler and his men had searched the surrounding forest to see if Howard had, maybe, limped out into the forest to lie down and die, like a cat.

They'd found a small trail of crimson tainted asphalt that led to nowhere.

It kept Jack up at night. Even with Arcee camping in the garage, his head had felt light as a feather. He didn't remember how long he'd lay there in his bed, clutching the phone, hunched over.

He didn't know how long he'd lay there remembering the beast. The creature that had dared call itself his father.

"…Jack?"

Jack glanced up, realizing that he'd drifted off. Arcee's finger gently touched his shoulder, and she said softly, "How about we go outside for a bit, you know, get some fresh air?"

Jack nodded, for that was all he could do.

* * *

"We received a call from Agent Fowler a few hours ago," Arcee crouched beside Jack, who was sitting on the metal roof of the outpost, cross-legged. Arcee lay on her back next to him, legs outstretched, face staring at the sky.

"Cool."

"Your mom should be coming home either today or tomorrow. Depends on how things hold up," Arcee smiled grimly. "He said that she won't be able to walk for a few days – Optimus was thinking that she could bunk here for a day or too. You can go home, if you'd want."

Jack didn't reply. Instead, he picked at a spot on the cool metal.

"Do you still think that this is your fault?" Arcee said, lifting her head. "Jack, are you even listening to me?"

"I'm listening," the teenager replied. "It _was_ my fault."

"How so? Tell me, right now, how _any _of this was your fault."

Jack opened his mouth, but the original words flew out. A small tear clouded his vision, and he furiously wiped it away. "I don't know, Arcee. I don't know. You know that feeling you get when…when something happens that you can't control, and you just know, somewhere deep inside you, that it wouldn't have happened if you'd have just done something right?"

An almost imperceptible nod from Arcee had Jack continuing.

"Maybe it was something I did when I was just a little kid," he said glumly. "Something that I can't remember. Something my mom won't tell me."

"Jack, your father experimented–"

"I know what he did," Jack snapped, shoulders bristling. He took in Arcee's expression and mumbled, "Sorry. Didn't mean to snap."

"It's alright. I understand."

Silence. Then, Jack blinked and watched as a shadow whizzed beneath him. When he looked up, he wasn't surprised to find that it was just a flock of birds. He laughed and said, "I'm becoming paranoid, Arcee."

His partner tilted her head and murmured, "Are you still having dreams?"

"Nightmares. Terrible, terrible nightmares," his lips twisted into grimace. "They're always the kind where you're running and running from something. The creature never gets you, but…"

"…you just keep running anyway? Until you can't run anymore?"

Jack's eyes flashed across his guardians face. "I thought Cybertronians couldn't dream?"

"We don't need too. Our nightmares are always right there, smack in our faces."

* * *

Absently, Wheeljack began humming a tune.

It was one he'd picked up after trying to listen to human radio. The little preppy human girl, Miko, had enjoyed it, as had Bulkhead. He'd caved in to his own curiosity, and had managed to pick up a signal via the _Jackhammer_.

It had been loud, obnoxious, senseless, and in some cases, the language had been more vulgar the language Bulkhead used when he was jacked on high-grade.

It was _awesome_.

Once again, Wheeljack basked in the wonderful sensation of begin a loner. Having no rules, obeying himself, and himself only. He wondered how Bulkhead could stand it – Wheeljack respected Prime to some extent, but cared for his dignity too much to allow the old mech the power to tell him what to do.

Bulkhead was a freedom fighter, like Wheeljack. He was…risky.

But he'd lost his touch – well, Prime had most likely caused him to lose his touch.

A faint blip on the dashboard before Wheeljack jerked him out of his thoughts. It took his processors a second to make out the signal, the faint bleep of a dying spark or creature or whatever that was just a couple thousand feet beneath him.

Once again, curiosity won the battle. Jerking the gearstick, Wheeljack angled the _Jackhammer_ at an angle, allowing it to steep towards the ground.

He landed with a jarring thud. Slipping from the ship, resisting the urge to draw his swords, Wheeljack took in the surroundings.

The ground was covered in a light coat of snow, patches of ice floating on icy cold water. Trees dappled the hillside to his left, more leading to a dense forest on his right. He'd parked the Jackhammer fifty yards from the bank of the lake, but even from here, he could see the deep furrow in the snow.

It looked as If someone had set off grenades, simultaneously, in a line. So deep was the ditch that Wheeljack could see the dirt and patches of grass splattered across the white ground.

As he approached, he found that the snow was splashed with energon. Lots of it. As if there had been a massacre, though Wheeljack could see only one body.

Or what looked like a body. It was the head of a Vehicon, the visor cracked. Raising his eyebrows, Wheeljack looked farther and saw that same Vehicon's arm, and then a leg, and then a wing, bent badly and stuck upright in the snow. A glistening, gooey pile of wires, ripped from the Vehicon's chest, floated on a patch of ice.

Someone had done this. Something.

Another sight caught Wheeljack's eye.

He walked over, limbs stiff from the sudden drop in temperature.

The blood was red, five little dots. The crimson was a startling contrast to the white beneath it. It didn't look fresh, but it was recognizable, no doubt. A foot away from it was something that caused the mech's energon to run cold. And it wasn't because of the weather.

A shredded shoe lay half buried in the snow. A human shoe.

Something horrific had happened, Wheeljack decided.

His helm turned towards the forest to his right. It took him a moment to see the trees that had been shoved out of places by an unknown force, along with the messy tracks that looked as if someone – a Cybertronian – had been running away from the scene, half drunk.

A smile touched the corners of Wheeljack's lips, and once again, the battle between curiosity and reserve began.

Curiosity won.


	2. Ice

Wheeljack's pedes crunched through the snow, kicking away branches and plowing through dirt. Irritated, he brushed away stray, overhanging limbs, grumbling to himself.

One sword was drawn, the other still holstered at his back. His optics were peeled for any disturbance, audio receptors on full blast, picking up the slightest hint of movement – a snap of a dry twig, the scuttle of a rodent, the flutter of birds wings.

The splashes of energon were growing bigger and bigger, the tracks turning from recognizable footprints to deep grooves in the snow.

The energon stained the trees. Wheeljack paused, puzzled as he observed a handprint someone – a Cybertronian – had left. It was as if they had stuck their hand in a massive bucket of blue liquid, and then slapped it against the bark. The toxic Cybertronian blood had practically burned through the tree, causing it to droop.

Someone was hurt.

Either hurt, or dead already. As Wheeljack continued, he could see the smashed trees, puddles of energon, and tracks that were haphazard, crazy, as if some bumbling, bleeding, drunk fool had been stumbling around, not knowing where he or she was going.

An audible groan caused Wheeljack to perk up, shoulders bristling. His optics narrowed and he drew his second sword, twirling it lightly.

He stalked forward, quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible…

Several meters away, in between two trees, a creature bolted.

"Hey!"

Wheeljack lunged, but his pedes lost traction against the cold snow, and he fell forward, one sword flying from his hand. Pushing himself up on his side, Wheeljack, bared his dental plates.

The creature was stumbling, tripping, grunting so loud that it could be heard from where Wheeljack lay. Using a nearby tree trunk as support, the mech stood, wound his arm, and then flung his remaining sword towards the rapidly moving object ahead of him.

It twirled through the air, a throwing knife, sunlight reflecting from the snow and glinting off the cool Cybertronian steel. There was a strangled squawk that sounded more animalistic that anything else, along with a quick thud that shook birds from their roosts and snow from their branches.

The forest fell silent.

Wheeljack limped over, grabbing his first sword, the one he'd accidentally flung away, from where it had split through a tree, clean cut. He pulled, grunting, holding it up to catch the light. Squinting, he shook his head, checking for any scratches, before tucking it under his arm and continuing forward.

The whimpering grew louder, more strained now, high-pitches moans instead of the soft whine that reminded him of an injured dog. Wheeljack ducked under an overhanging limb, emerging into a small patch where the snow had settled and the trees had fallen.

Snow clouded Wheeljack's vision for a second, and he blinked it away.

What he saw sickened him.

Energon had melted the snow, killing the grass beneath and painting the dirt black. Something long and stringy – sinew, maybe – ran from one tree, all across the clearing. It led up to the most horrifying sight of all – a Cybertronian, hunched over, chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to keep his insides, well…inside him.

The shock delayed the reaction. Once he took in the wings, Wheeljack was able to identify the mech as a Seeker. But why was he splayed out across the snow, claws scrambling at the gaping hole in his stomach, tanks flecked with snow, uncovered so the world could see them.

It was disgusting.

The mech gave a shuddering howl, throwing back his head, chest extending outward. It was then that Wheeljack noticed the Decepticon insignia on his chest and the familiar face – Starscream, the Air Commander of the Decepticon faction – and his hands flew to his swords, drawing them, leaping forward and swinging them in a wide arc…

The mech didn't even respond.

Wheeljack's swords stopped inches from the top of Starscream's head. The Decepticon was inhaling and exhaling air as if his life depended on it, energon bubbling behind parted lips. One of his optics had gone blank. His hands were drenched in energon, one stuck inside the gaping wound in his stomach, the other clutching at something familiar.

It was a T-Cog. Fresh, from the way it sparkled, but a T-Cog, no less.

From the way the mech was sitting, positioned, it looked as if he had been trying to surgically implant the T-Cog himself, without any medical equipment, anesthetic, anything…

Crazy.

Wheeljack had no doubt that, whatever the case, this was a Decepticon not to be trifled with. A part of him screamed to walk away, sheath his swords and trudge back to the Jackhammer, leaving the Decepticon to bleed out and eventually offline.

But he didn't.

He didn't know why.

Maybe it was the look Starscream was giving him. The dying, pleading look. Energon dripped from his lips, splashing against his already stained chest.

He extended a hand.

Wheeljack reached for it.

Then, in a single motion, Starscream's talons swung low to smash into his already gaping wound, digging into his tanks, sliding them aside with a grisly screech that made Wheeljack's own tanks want to purge themselves – but he held strong.

"Stop!" Wheeljack cried.

Starscream's face had morphed into a hideous snarl, lips pulled back over dripping dental plates. The entire mech's body was shaking, spasming, one leg kicking as his intakes reacted, venting loudly, the sound abnormal – Cybertronians weren't supposed to make noises like that. Not now. Not ever.

Wheeljack lunged for the T-Cog. Starscream's leg came up, one sharp-heeled toe smashing into Wheeljack and lurching him away so that he landed on his rear, grunting upon impact.

He watched in horror as Starscream pushed his tanks so far to the side that they bent – the metal caved, cracked. Then, his trembling fingers curled around the T-Cog.

In a single motion, he shoved the appendage into his stomach.

It connected with a wet slapping sound. Sparks flew – joints rearranged themselves in order to accommodate the new mechanical organ.

Starscream gave a final shriek, and then collapsed, arm twitching.

Wheeljack sat, unmoving.

He burst into action, suddenly. Fingers slipped under Starscream's neck, feeling a familiar pulse – there was a wire beneath the neck plating that throbbed with the beat of a mech or femme's spark – and was relived to find that he was still alive.

But barely.

The mech's optics were blank. Sliding his swords back into their sheaths, Wheeljack grumbled a curse and flipped the mech over, yelping when a hot flood of energon poured from the wound. He flipped Starscream back over, onto his back, feeling nauseous when he got a clear view of Starscream's energon slick tanks, bent, but still moving up and down.

Why was Wheeljack helping this freak?

He didn't know. Maybe his processors wanted answers – why was Starscream out here? What was he doing with a T-Cog?

Something had to have driven Starscream to such an extreme measure. Something foreign. The mech was too smart to resort to such vile, preposterous, self-executed surgery.

But he was going to find out. He just had to make sure that the mech didn't bleed out first.

That would sure throw a wrench in his plans.

Wheeljack, tenderly, gingerly, almost, hoisted Starscream up and threw him over his shoulder, hissing when a soft line of energon trickled down his back, splashing onto the ground and blossoming against the white snow like a terrible, blue flower.


	3. Promise

"Why'd you do it?"

Wheeljack didn't turn from his position in the _Jackhammers_ cockpit, hands braced against the wheel, eyes peeled for any sign of danger – any sign that his guest had somehow managed to call reinforcements.

There was a warning bell ringing in the back of his mind, and he constantly swiveled his head to stare at the Decepticon nestled in the back of the ship. His head lolled back, lips still parted. Wheeljack had taken the time to try and mend the gaping wound in his side, but he was no medic, and the iron-hard stitches strained outward as the Cybertronian cycled his vents again and again.

Wheeljack's hands were still stained blue. So was the floor of his ship. Starscream himself sat in a puddle of his own energon, the liquid crusting against the hard metal of the _Jackhammer's _interior.

The wounded mech had murmured a few words, and that was when Wheeljack had chained him up, cuffing him to the wall, careful not to agitate the horrific, bulging, stitched-up gash in his stomach. He'd been strong, looking at the wound with furious reserve.

He'd seen injuries before, knew what kind of damage knives and swords and guns could do. But this…this was disturbing beyond belief, especially since it had been executed by Starscream himself.

Now, Wheeljack stared at the mech's reflection in the glass before him, seeing his head drop forward to rest against his chest. Red optics blinked, and then blared to life, chained fingers twitched and long-unused wings flared violently, before being forced back down by the cuffs.

Starscream mumbled, energon falling from his lips, "What'd ya say?"

"Why did you do it?" Wheeljack's repeated, impatient. "Come on, con, answer me before I regret saving you."

Starscream's head snapped up. He bared sharp incisors, before shuddering, shaking violently, a spray of blue phlegm escaped the back of his throat. He doubled over, coughing for a few moments.

Sucking in a breath, he snarled, "You have no right– " he lost it again, crying out in agony. He yanked against his cuffs but they held firm, causing him to slip and fall back against the wall.

He was panting, raving, shouting abuses at Wheeljack and Wheeljack was ignoring it – it was all he could do, ignore. He jerked the gearstick to the side a couple of times, sending the Jackhammer tilting to the side and Starscream shouting, crying, arms fully extended.

"I give up!" the Decepticon suddenly cried. "I give up, I give up!"

"Good," Wheeljack said dryly, leveling the ship. He heard a wail of agony as Starscream fell onto his side, jarring his stomach.

Several moments of silence, and then Wheeljack said conversationally once again, "Why'd you do it?"

Starscream gave a groan of either pain or disgust, claws scraping against metal. He grumbled, "What if I told you that Decepticon's can, indeed, feel love?"

"I'd say your processors were malfunctioning," Wheeljack quipped, stealing a quick glance a Starscream. The mech was hunched over, hand across the hole in his stomach that was now a sealed, yet terrifyingly grotesque gash. His eyebrows were low, as were his wings, despite the cuffs. Stress and possible lack of recharge had caused the paint under his eyes to peel, giving him an unearthly, ghoulish appearance.

He wasn't kidding, Wheeljack realized with a sudden sinking feeling. The mech looked as if he'd starved himself, on purpose, of energon. Maybe he knew that his attempt at surgery would produce an unpleasant amount of energon, and in the wake of that realization had begun to make sure his frame was as devoid of it as possible. Wheeljack didn't know.

Maybe he was trying to offline himself.

It was scary to think about. Over the past few centuries, Wheeljack had witnessed murders and attempts at murders, wounds inflicted by enemies, some upon himself, some upon his closest friends, and only a handful of times had he seen a mech or femme truly driven mad by the constant demands of war. He used to believe that only Autobots suffered from such a sensation – they were _Autobots_, after all, defenders of all planets hosting sentient beings, blah, blah, blah – but now, staring at Starscream and his lifeless figure, he wondered if, all along, he'd been wrong.

They were all Cybertronians, after all, spawned by the same deity, no matter how broken or bruised or corrupt their sparks were.

Wheeljack shuddered, looking away from Starscream. There was a collective sigh, and then a sniffle.

"Who was she?" Wheeljack murmured, hating himself for asking.

"A human."

Wheeljack blew air through his olfactory sensors, letting a booming chuckle escape him, vibrating throughout the entire ship. He smashed his thumb down, allowing the ship to cruise languidly on autopilot, before swiveling in his chair to look at the Decepticon hunched over in the corner.

His claws were raking through the puddle of dried energon beneath him, scraping away blue flakes. His back was hunched, probably cramped due to the small space. His optics gave the impression that his processors were somewhere else.

"A human," Wheeljack said slowly. Then, a smirk gracing his lip plates, he said, "Was she cute?"

Starscream didn't reply.

"Tell me about her," Wheeljack crossed his legs and stared, daring the mech to look up. Daring him to do anything, really – what could a little curiosity do?

Then, a soft voice said, "Promise me…promise me that you'll understand."

A nod.

"Good," Starscream closed his optics. "She was wonderful, really, and snarky. A little pompous, but only because, at the time, we were on the same level…."

* * *

"Please tell me that you didn't get detention again, Miko."

It was the first thing she heard upon slamming the door, settling comfortably in Bulkhead's passenger seat. Flicking a strand of pink tinged hair out of her eyes, Miko huffed, crossing her arms and trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

Something in Bulkhead's tone stopped her from replying immediately. Maybe it was the exhaustion that caused her to shift, strapping the seatbelt across her chest with enough force to warn Bulkhead that she, as well, was in a sour mood.

She said, "Nope. Not this time – although Danni Martinez did, like, try to talk to me about…"

"Yeah. Yeah," Bulkhead murmured. "How are you holding up on that, kid?"

"I miss her."

"Her" was a substitute for Penny. Over the past week Miko had endured the consolation of one too many people. If she heard another "I'm so sorry" or "I know you two were close" or, her least favorite, "It's alright to cry."

It wasn't selfishness. She wasn't afraid of the same thing twice, but deep in her heart she knew that she had to forget.

Penny had died a senseless death and though it hadn't been at Miko's hand, she understood that she'd played a part. Recognized her failure, her conscience deciding it appropriate to replay it over and over and over in her dreams and, sometimes, when she was awake.

She'd kept herself shut tight. No longer the outgoing, careless Miko. No. She was desperately trying to change, and Bulkhead saw that and felt it right to point it out.

"…this is a war, Miko," he was saying gently. "Even from the human perspective, there are casualties."

"Not human casualties," Miko grumbled.

Bulkhead was silent.

"I mean, it wasn't your fault," she continued, sitting up straighter, watching the steering wheel as it turned back and forth, hypnotizing, yet she was so used to seeing it. "Or Bumblebee's. You guys did all that you could – but that rat Howard…"

"Still haven't found the body," Bulkhead seethed. "Between you and me, Miko, Optimus can take his 'don't harm humans' rule and shove it," the Wrecker snorted. "No disrespect, but please…you agree with me on this, right?"

Miko fidgeted nervously, and then chuckled. "Yeah. Yeah, but I think Jack's already called dibs on offing Howard, Bulk. He beat you too it."

"Good luck getting to him, then," Bulkhead replied sullenly. "I haven't seen Jack in a while."

"Nobody but Arcee has, Bulk, so don't take it personally," Miko huffed, sinking back into the warm seat. "He's grown pretty distant."

"I bet Optimus would be able to get too him…"

"Or his mom. But she's not due back from the hospital until tomorrow night, I think. That's what I heard from Fowler," Miko perked up suddenly, eyes wide. "Hey, Bulk, wouldn't it be cool if we…you know, threw a little 'welcome home' bash for Nurse Darby? Maybe back at base so you and Bee and everyone else could be there, too?"

Bulkhead chuckled. "I'm not one to shut down party, Miko, but don't you think that Nurse Darby will be a little…I don't know, tired? I mean, from what Ratchet told me, she'll be so hyped up on medication that sleep'll be the only thing she can get too."

Miko's face fell dramatically. "Oh," she breathed. "Right, right. Forgot this wasn't the common cold we're dealing with," she stretched out her legs, glancing out the window. They'd pulled onto the vast stretch of road leading to the base, the shrubbery and red dust blurring by as Bulkhead increased his speed. She said, "But come on, it was a pretty cool idea…"

"Uh-huh."

"You okay, Bulk?"

"I haven't had a proper sip of energon in a few days. Our stocks are about gone…we'll probably have to find and hit another mine, soon," Bulkhead sounded excited. "Finally, some action. I'm starting to cramp up, sitting at base this whole time."

"Imagine how I feel," Miko chuckled, tapping her fingers lightly against Bulkhead's dashboard. Then, she lowered her voice, as if someone were in the back seat and she didn't want them to hear. "Sneak me under your armor when you go, alright?"

Bulkhead laughed. "I don't think Ratchet or Prime would approve of that, Miko."

Miko pouted. "Then take my phone. Be sure to get some pics for the scrapbook, alright?"

"Didn't you tell me that your scrapbook was already full?"

Miko sighed, deflated. "Right, right, right. I forgot," she scratched the back of her head. "Gotta go to the store and grab another."

"Just what are you going to do with all those scrapbooks, Miko?" Bulkhead asked. "And you're hiding them, right? I mean, your host parents haven't…"

"Nope. They can't even get into my room," Miko rubbed her hands together. "And just what am I going to do with them? Well, I was hoping that, when I'm older and get married, I'll be able to show them to my kids. Of course, they won't be as cool as the real thing…"

Bulkhead, his voice laced heavily with emotion, said, "I might not be around when you have kids."

"Of course you will!"

Bulkhead didn't reply.

Miko blew air out through her nose, leaned forward, and pressed a hand against the dashboard of the car. Staring through the windshield, she could see the entrance to the base approaching, the vehicle bouncing as it sped off road, rolling through billowing clouds of dirt and dust.

Softly, she said, "Promise me, Bulkhead, that you'll be around."

A soft shudder flew through the Wrecker's frame, the seat beneath Miko vibrating softly. She sat back, rubbing her eyes, blinking away the sudden oncoming rush of tears.

Then her dark orbs opened, shining with unknown pleasure.

"I promise."


	4. Defiance

It was odd for June Darby, really, to be the one confined to a hospital bed.

Usually she was the one walking through the door, reading off diagnostics and informing the patient whether or not they were fine, blah, blah, blah, or if she would need minor or major surgery. Her's had been the latter of the two, and though she didn't like to admit it, a part of her had been terrified.

Agent Fowler was a saint, in June's eyes. He's had the audacity and kindness to sit through June's petrifying surgery, making sure that he was the first person June saw when she awoke from comatose. His rugged face was a welcoming sight, and she'd enjoyed it for quite some time.

Now he was sitting across from June, tossing an apple back and forth between hands, as if contemplating whether or not to just eat it or toss it away. Whatever the case, the decision appeared to be a difficult one, for every few seconds he would sigh, then switch the apple to his opposite hand.

Finally, June cut in and said, "Penny for your thoughts, Agent?"

He huffed. "Your boy Jack called again. Want's to know when your coming home."

"Did you tell him that it depends on how I feel? Trust me, I don't need to be checking out early. Did that once before, came to regret it later on. You understand what that's like, right?"

"What it's like?" Fowler echoed. Then his lips pulled into a line and he shook his head, finally setting the apple on the bedside table. "I only got injured twice when I was a Ranger. I've been in more tussles with Decepticon adversaries than I have anything else. Trust me, I know."

June laughed, bit then stopped when her stomach began to ache. Gulping, she gently lifted the covers.

June was accustomed to seeing horrendous wounds of all sorts, but nothing had truly prepared her for seeing one inflicted upon her own body. The gash was long, running from her naval down to her hip. Sealed up with stitches but still pertaining the appearance of a mouth stretched into a lipless smile, the flesh beneath raw, stomach muscles squeezing in and out with each breath June took.

Freaking disgusting. She released the sheet, a nasty grimace gracing her lips. Agent Fowler, noticing her discomfort, raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Is it healing up well?"

"Seems like it," June ran thin fingers through her dark locks, closing her eyes. She heard the sound of a chair scraping against hard tile, and suddenly Agent Fowler was there, gently resting his hand atop hers.

"You'll be getting home soon, Miss Darby. Don't worry - just think about how excited Jack and Arcee will be!"

"They'll be jumping off the walls," June murmured. She struggled to sit up, hissing when the simple motion jarred her injured stomach. She'd all but forgotten the basics when it cane to stab wounds - even in the ER, those were somewhat of an anomaly, so she didn't feel the need to try and strain herself too far. That was what Agent Fowler was for, right? or was he simply here for carnal comfort? The man looked as if he were struggling to come to terms with his next words, opening his mouth and then closing it deftly.

June quipped, "Something you want to tell me, Agent Fowler?"

The man looked up. "There is, but you won't like it."

June's blood ran cold, her fingers gripping the bedsheets. Tired eyes zoomed in on Fowler's face as she said, "I can handle it."

Fowler ran a hand across his head, biting his bottom lip. Then, in a low whisper, he said, "We never recovered your husband - "

"Ex-husband," June corrected, her tone like acid.

"Yes, my apologies, ex-husbands body. My men showed up to the warehouse a little late, found a pool of blood, but no Howard."

"No Howard?"

An icy cold feeling latched onto and began to squeeze June's heart. No, no, fear was gone. Terror had taken over, fresh and new, rendering her a helpless, weeping figure on a bloodstained bed. Agent Fowler's grip on her hand tightened, and she didn't dare pull away - the comfort was great and all, but still, despite Fowler's strength and position, she knew that he wouldn't be able to stand against Howard. The Autobots had barely been able to best him, one man with only his mind his his inventions to protect him. Fowler hadn't experienced Howard's madness like June, Jack, and a select few others had.

Knowing Howard, he would have ditched his mindeater idea, left it to lie, as cold as the snow that fell outside. He would return with something more horrific and devastating and just thinking about it caused bile to rise in the back of June's throat. Her face paled, sweat breaking out along her brow.

"Nurse Darby...June..." Fowler's concerned voice was distant, an echo in the back of June's mind.

She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready for more stress and blood and...and...she couldn't do it again. Couldn't drive her knife, physical and metaphorical, into her soul to save another.

It was all too much! Too much!

June buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the rush of oncoming tears. There was a scrape, and Fowler was standing up, arms crossed over his broad chest. He placed a hand against June's back and said softly, "Do you need me to get the Nurse?"

A nod. Her stomach was starting to throb.

Fowler's shadow passed over June's hunched figure as he disappeared, the Nurse replacing him moments later. She was a pretty woman, young, with a vibrant face and pink tinged cheeks and bouncy blonde hair. Green eyes twinkled as she refilled the cup of water on June's bedside.

She was smiling the entire time. Her movements were a bit awkward, as if she wasn't used to doing something like this - but she was a Nurse! How come she...

A wave of pain robbed June of her thoughts. She groaned, gingerly taking the pills from the Nurse, who, at this point, had a pained expression written across her features that mimicked June's.

She watched June swallow the medicine, silent. "I'll...be...outside," she said. The words were forced, jumbled. June watched with raised eyebrows as the woman gave a fake smile, clasped her hands together, hurrying out of the room.

The medicine hit June's stomach hard, and she gasped, trying not to wretch. Sipping at her water, she reclined back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Night was falling, she could tell. Nighttime meant rest and dreams.

Horrible dreams. Sick dreams. Dreams of the depressed and dying.

Dreams about the inevitable fear that soon, Howard Darby would be coming back to get her.

* * *

Starscream had finished the story laughing.

The Jackhammer was speeding through the sky like a bullet but still, even in its state, Starscream was sure that the noise would cause the Nemesis to materialize out of thin air, drawn by the stink of Starscream's agony and desperation.

He was doubled over, talons raking against the ground, forehead nearly touching the ground. His mouth was open, energon pouring from his eyes. He looked like such a weakling, he realized.

_You, Starscream, are not tougher than the rest._

_And it's all because of that girl._

Wheeljack was staring at Starscream, expression a mixture of poignancy and pity, as if he wanted to kill Starscream and put him out of his misery but thought, "ah, better not. The poor con deserves it. Chose the wrong side, he did. Shouldn't have backed Megatron. Should've backed Prime instead, like common sense dictates. Loss is what he gets for picking the stupid decision instead of the smart one, for keeping that girl with him and becoming so engrossed with a task, so fixed on one aspect - superiority - that he forgot what was really important."

Eva had been right. He was just as human as everyone else. He had faults. He had obsessions that could bypass his firewalls and infect his spark just as money could infect the most generous of men and drugs could infect the purest of men and women.

And he'd been too late to find the cure. Eva's love hadn't been able to pass through those almighty firewalls before it was too late and she was _gone_.

Spewing all of it to Wheeljack didn't seem like the right way to go.

"Not going to gloat, Autobot?" Starscream said shakily, throwing back his head. Madness danced behind his red optics, and he bared his teeth.

_You are not tougher than the rest, Starscream. But maybe you're tougher than this individual._

Wheeljack didn't reply.

"I've failed, _Autobot_!" Starscream continued, his voice uneven, all over the place. "Oh, the irony! A rogue speaking to a rogue - that's what you are, isn't it? Did you leave because you're a failure? Did you leave because you disappointed your master and he beat you, Autobot, _beat_ you until you couldn't think clearly? Did you leave and find a girl, a beautiful girl with hair the color of fire and not care who she was, what she was, because she...she_ poisoned_ you," Starscream's lips twisted into a hideous grimace. "With this disease that made you fell as if you were the most important mech in the world? Huh?"

Silence. Starscream's stomach was aching and his limbs were trembling, vision unfocused.

Voice raspy, he said, "Then she dies. Then she dies, and you're alone. And you want so badly to die and join her."

"You were trying to kill yourself back there."

Starscream winced, tugging against his chains. "I wasn't _trying_ to," he said. "I wanted my T-Cog - "

"But you expected to die."

Wheeljack pursed his lips, sinking into his chair. Then, he closed his optics. "I label you Con's as horrendous parasites," he said simply. "But you come from the same Allspark. And by the Allspark, you can feel pain."

Starscream's lips twitched, and he glanced down.

"I became a rogue not because Prime abused me, but because I don't follow orders. Scratch that, I _hate_ following orders. Prime is getting soft in his old age. I've seen good mechs on their deathbeds because of that. Most of them Wreckers because, as you know, we weren't indispensible," Wheeljack spat. "I've been shot, stabbed, and beaten as well - some if it inflicted by you, no doubt. But you know what? Every time I escaped, every time I flew into battle, I would run in like a bloodthirsty scraplet. That's just who I am. You're a smart mech, and I have no trouble believing that you're just as a parasite as your former comrades, rogue or not, just as I hate following orders, rogue or not."

He sucked in a breath, continuing softly. For the first time, Starscream was transfixed.

For the first time, he saw Wheeljack as not an Autobot or Decepticon.

Nameless. Just a Cybertronian.

And he could understand so much better because of it.

"Never in my life have I thought that ending myself would be the way to go. It was always 'how can I die doing something..._eccentric_. Epic. Memorable," Wheeljack rubbed his arms. "Never, 'ah, well, thinks look bad, so I guess its time to ditch.'"

"That's just you," Starscream grumbled.

"Just me? You spoke about irony earlier. It's a mad irony, but it's irony, no doubt, but I couldn't give a frag. Yes, Eva'd dead."

Starscream went rigid.

"Yes, she's dead, and yes, you're going to cope. You're going to raise your helm in _defiance_," Wheeljack hissed. "Because if I can't think of you as anything but a parasite, you aren't just failing, you aren't doing your job in making Eva proud."

Wheeljack finished with a long, drawn out breath. Energon twinkled in his blue optics, and he turned away before it could fall.

"If you love her, you'll know what I mean."

Starscream buried his face in his hands.

"Where are we going?"

"I say we fly," Wheeljack's voice was soft. "Seeker see, Seeker do, Seeker fly until he can't fly anymore."


	5. Precipice

Despite the fact that the interior of the base was covered in meter-thick metal and rock, an icy wind still managed to seep inside and chill everyone - human and Autobot - to the core.

Ratchet was standing rigid at the monitor, Arcee and Optimus in a corner, speaking softly. Bumblebee and Bulkhead were out driving Miko and Raf home, although Ratchet had expressed his displeasure with the weather, indicating that both mechs would have to be groundbridged back to base to avoid the slippery roads. Mother Nature had whipped up a tailwind of snow that swirled around, covering the ground in a white, two foot deep ocean, and it didn't seem like it would be letting up anytime soon.

Jack had a thick blanket wrapped around his shoulders, tucking his feet up against his chest. The lights of the silo flickered above, and all was silent except for the soft sound of Ratchet as his fingers flew across the monitor.

He noticed Jack's wandering eyes, and turned. The old mech sighed, suddenly, rolling his armored shoulders, attracting the attention of both Optimus and Arcee.

"I know this isn't your idea of a sleepover..." Ratchet began.

"I'm not complaining," Jack cut in, managing a grim smile. "I just feel sort of...intrusive."

Ratchet made a face that expressed agreement, but his words were different. "Intrusive? You?_ No_," he turned back to the monitor, had ducked as he pretended to analyze the keys. "No, not in a million cycles..."

The monitor chose that moment to issue a loud beep that caused everyone in the room, besides Optimus, to jump. Arcee rushed over, and Jack threw the blanket to the side as a familiar face flashed across the thin screen, an a voice filtered through, a voice that sent Jack's heart soaring.

"Never thought you'd be the one to greet me, Ratchet."

"Nu-June," Ratchet stuttered. He cast a glance in Jack's direction, eyes narrowing as the boy came to a stop, hands braced against the railing. He coughed and straightened up, speaking with genuine concern. "How are you feeling?"

The image of June displayed on the screen flickered. June's voice was tired, scratchy. "Fine," she sighed. "Same old, same old. My stomach's healing up nicely - doctor wants to keep me in the hospital for another day," silence. Then, "Is Jack there?"

"Mom!"

"There's your answer," Ratchet said, a small smile toying across his lips. "I fear that the poor boy is bored with our company."

Jack's face turned a bright shade of red, and he shook his head frantically.

"Have you been rude?" June quipped. "Jack, you _know_ how to act when you're at a guest's house! You're getting enough to eat, right? And please, _please_ tell me that you've cleaned up after yourself! Poor Ratchet has enough to do already!"

Arcee had a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide her grin. Even Optimus seemed amused, his blue optics directed towards the ground as if _he_ were the one getting chastised. Finally, the Prime stepped forward, speaking calmly to the monitor as if he'd dealt with the situation a million times before. "June, I'm glad to hear that you're making a full recovery."

"Optimus? Is that you?" June laughed, and for a moment Jack could picture his mom, his normal mom, back from the brink once again."You're doing a great thing, taking care of my boy. Taking care of all of the kids, really. You and Ratchet both. And Arcee, if she's there, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee..."

"Thank you, June," Optimus said.

"I don't know where all of us would be without you're leadership."

"Upside down, in a ditch, in the middle of nowhere," Jack murmured. "Every last one of us. And that, my friends, is the truth."

* * *

The snowstorm hit with such ferocity that it forced the _Jackhammer_ to land.

Starscream stumbled out into the whiteness, sinking to his knees, cold water seeping between his joints. The ice tickled his wounded stomach, freezing the energon and causing icicles to form from the dripping blue liquid. The Seeker draped a hand across his eyes, befuddled optics trying to make sense of the particles flying past them. The visibility was awful, so awful, that for a moment Starscream lost track of Wheeljack and the _Jackhammer_ - it was only when he smashed face-first into the small ship that he realized where he was.

Wheeljack's strong arms wrapped around his waist, supporting him, for his legs were wobbly and weak, frame not used to such vigorous exercise. The lack of energon made him woozy, the white ground pitching beneath his feet as he tried to walk.

"This way!"

The noise was defeaning, a roar that pierced his audio receptors. Each individual flake felt like a bullet when it hit, quick, precise, barely noticeable. The sky seemed to be descending upon them like some avenging spirit, certainly not one sent by Primus, no, no, for it was much too crude.

The two mech's were lucky. They managed to navigate into a nearby cave, ducking onto their knees and crawling, blunt fingers and sharp talons searching for any sort of handhold, a grippy surface. The ground beneath them stooped downward, not a steep slope, but not a shallow one, either.

Finally they came to rest, leaning against the wall. The light barely reached where they were sitting, Starscream's eyes looking like two floating red orbs in the shadows.

"You're wound didn't open up, did it?" Wheeljack asked, venting heavily. His pedes scraped against the stone as he pulled his legs up against him. "Because I feel something wet. And sticky."

"Probably fungi. Maybe even animal excrement."

"Ah. Lovely."

"I imagine this is all so..._new_ to you," Starscream said, a giggle rising in the back of his throat. "You, an esteemed Wrecker, hiding out in some old cave with an even older Decepticon rogue."

"It is new to me, and we're not hiding," Wheeljack breathed. He slowly got to his feet, swords glinting as he peered out at the blizzard. "This storm doesn't look as if its letting up."

"We could always go back to your ship?"

"My ship can't fly in this weather. No ship other than the _Nemesis_ can. You should know that, you're a Seeker," Wheeljack's lips twisted into a grim line. "Speaking of Seekers, whatever happened to your trine?"

"What?"

"Don't Seekers normally travel in groups of three? Threesomes? Triple threat?" the Autobot rogue grinned savagely. "They were well-respected back on Cybertron, with plenty of nicknames to go around. Where's the dangerous duo, I wonder? Or is it just you?"

"Just me," Starscream answered softly.

"Ah. All's fair in love and war, right?" Wheeljack replied dryly. "A shame you weren't born a wrecker. We could've used someone with wits like yours, _Screamer_. Now go ahead and get comfortable. We might be here a while."

* * *

Starscream dreamed that night.

He didn't normally dream. He'd long ago forced himself out of the habit - so he'd thought - and any distraction during recharge either came from Megatron, Soundwave, or most recently, Knockout.

But every once and a while, memories would slip through and raid the vast structure that was his subconscious. He couldn't stop them, didn't know how to stop them, and sometimes didn't want to, depending on the memory. On an even rarer occasion his brain would create new memories, false images and sounds so real to the optics, so warm to the touch that a part of him wondered if, indeed, they had been real.

He just wasn't remembering.

This particular dream was of him and Eva. They'd managed to escape, leaving Starscream still clothed in flesh and bone and blood. He didn't know the details, but somehow they were living on an unknown island in some unknown ocean for some unknown reason. But it didn't matter because they were both so happy, both so wrapped up in each other.

Starscream could feel her. Feel her, feel her warm breath against his bare chest. Her hair smelled nice, her naked skin smelled nice. She was nice, so, so nice, unlike any other femme he'd had the pleasure to...

He didn't know what he was doing to her. The sheets were too warm and her warm flesh was inviting, and she seemed to think the same about him, for her hands were everywhere, all over his back, against the smooth muscle of his thighs and he replied the same, though not as aggressively. His lips were the key, he found, especially when they found her stomach and neck.

"_Starscream._.."

Maybe if he'd made this dream real, he would have been happy.

"Starscream!"

The Seeker's optics snapped open. He reared up, legs kicking, ignoring the shriek of metal against his stomach and his stitches as they hissed.

"Primus, Screamer," Wheeljack's face suddenly came into view, along with a hot flash of rage from Starscream. He'd been having such a marvelous dream, so hot and thick and full of...the stupid Wrecker had burst in unannounced and botched the entire thing!

Starscream growled, baring his teeth, and Wheeljack's hands flew to the hilt of his swords.

Neither mech moved.

"I really don't want this to end in a fight, con," Wheeljack said slowly. "We both know who'd come out on top."

"In _this_ confined space? Please. You'd end up cutting off your own foot," Starscream snapped.

Back to motionless.

After a long, heavy sigh, Wheeljack dropped his swords. His fist were clenched and he was still poised in a battle stance, however, something in his tone made Starscream believe that he wasn't going to attack. "You were calling her name. I wanted to wake you - you were making some pretty weird noises..."

Starscream's cooling fans kicked onto high gear, and he fidgeted uncomfortably. It had only taken his processors a fraction of a second to piece together the vision as a whole, what it represented. He was still lusting for her.

Wheeljack was not a stupid mech, therefore he was able to see it.

"She's gone, Screamer," he said miserably. "And that was just a dream. I don't want you going crazy on me, now. I've seen too many mech's driven to doing stupid things because of the loss of a femme! Too many!" his brows quivered, and suddenly the Wrecker seemed very, very flimsy. Like a broken doll, a marionette with cut strings.

But weren't they all, in a way?

"Don't be one of those that I have to take care of. Let the dead bury the dead, Starscream," Wheeljack finished, sinking back down onto the cold, hard stone. "Please, let the dead bury the dead."


	6. Homecoming

Three seconds after June hung up, Ratchet activated the groundbridge.

A minute later, Bumblebee and Bulkhead stumbled through, both covered in dents and scratched, Bumblebee leaking energon from a cut on his arm.

Ratchet and Optimus were on them before Jack could utter a cry of alarm. The teenager tossed the blanket to the side and jumped from the couch, sliding down the railing, heart and feet pounding as he ran towards the spot where Ratchet and Optimus were helping the two injured mech's settle. A shadow passed over Jack, and Arcee's foot came into view. She stopped beside Bumblebee, opened her mouth to speak, but Ratchet beat her too it.

"By the Allspark," he breathed. "What happened?"

Bumblebee gave a series of chirps, burying his head in his hands. Bulkhead, who was struggling to sit upright, closed his optics and groaned. "Scrap…"

"Scrap? Why scrap? What's going on?"

"Decepticons," Bulkhead grumbled. "Six of them. All flyers, Vehicon's that looked fresh off the assembly line."

"What?"

Bumblebee made a noise in the back of his throat, and Bulkhead gripped his shoulder, optics swirling with concern. His gaze lingered over Optimus for a moment, then, slowly, he said, "I was coming back from the place where I drop off Miko and…Bumblebee was driving Raf… Primus, they took him! _They snagged Raf!_"

Jack stumbled back, as if someone had punched him in the gut. His face paled. The ground pitched beneath him and the silo was suddenly silent, save for Bumblebee's occasional warbles.

"It doesn't make sense…" Optimus rumbled. Jack glanced up and suddenly the great Prime looked very, very old, as if the news had aged him by a couple thousand more years. Joints creaking, he kneeled before Bumblebee and gently touched the scout's knee. "Bumblebee, why were the Decepticon's after your charge?"

The yellow mech shrugged.

"I got there just in time to see a Vehicon grab Raf and fly off. I stuck around to fight – we beat four and the other two fled," Bulkhead said, picking at a piece of dried energon on his shoulder. "Cowards…" he grumbled. "All of them. Didn't want to finish the job."

"Like that _matters_, Bulkhead!" Jack cried. "We don't know why they–"

"Maybe they've finally figured that the child's vast knowledge of computer technology is a serious threat?" Arcee cut in. "I don't know. I'm not Megatron…" she trailed off, casting an uncomfortable glance in Prime's direction.

"If Megatron had wanted to extinguish human advantage we Autobot's have, he would have captured all three of you," Optimus addressed Jack, tilting his head to stare at the disheveled teen. "He's seen you, Miko, and Rafael before."

"Uh-huh," Jack chewed his bottom lip, turning away, running fingers through his dark hair. He whipped around and said, "We've gotta call Fowler."

"Fowler's busy with your mother. But I guess that hasn't stopped him before," Ratchet said mildly. He grumbled something under his breath, something foul, no doubt, and then stepped over Jack to return to his monitor.

Jack watched the two mourning Cybertronian's, one stoic, the other issuing a series of beeps and whistles that had even Optimus cringing.

Bumblebee's lower lip plates trembled, the scout squeezed his blue optics shut.

Then, for the first time, Jack saw a Cybertronian bow his head and weep.

* * *

Lily.

That was her name. Lily. Tall, slender, young nurse Lily. June remembered the name in the middle of the night and for some reason it seemed to strike her, like a physical blow to the chest. Her eyes snapped open, darkness consuming them. The soft hum of the monitors were so much the norm that June barely noticed them; the IV made her arm feel sore and she moved it reflexively, feeling the skin stretch taut.

Her stomach felt numb. In this lack of light there was no point in forcing herself to observe the grisly consequence of a psychotic marriage that lay slashed across her stomach, still raw. Absently she found her bandaged finger, one that had been broken during her time as a human puppet, drifting across her skin to touch the heavy gauze. June moaned, bit her lower lip and tried to make as little noise as possible.

The door clicked open.

June pretended, almost as if by instinct, to be asleep, but cracked her eyes open just a tad. The beam of light from the hallway barely grazed her bed, and disappeared as the intruder – Lily, June was horrified to find – closed the door, gently clicking it shut.

June snapped her eyes shut once more and then intentionally groaned, rolling over onto her side, watching Lily freeze. Settling back down into a false slumber, June heard Lily's footsteps as she walked around the room, trying to be silent but failing.

June Darby's hand slowly crept up to cover her mouth. Her back was turned, but she could clearly hear Lily rummaging through a plastic bin that sat on a stool in the corner. June twisted her head to peek; all she saw was the back of Lily's slender frame and blonde curls. Her arms moved quickly and she seemed to be bouncing gleefully on the balls of her feet, the motion so familiar that it made June gasp.

Lily whipped around.

June slammed her eyes shut.

A low, mean laugh bubbled in Lily's chest. Not a normal laugh, no, not one that could have come from a human, much less a girl of her stature. It was then that June's brain took control and she leaped, jamming an elbow into Lily's abdomen as she approached.

She lunged towards the lights. The IV, as well as the rolling monitor it was hooked two, came tumbling. A sharp pain exploded in June's abdomen and she groaned, stumbling, hand slapping across the light switch.

A red-hot beam shot across her vision, and June resisted the sudden urge to vomit. She stood in her hospital gown, barely clothed, fingers ripping at the IV attached to her arm. Sweat caused her loose black hair to cling to her neck, but even then she had the strength to lift her head.

Lily was advancing, slowly, awkwardly, and in that moment June knew without a doubt that she was in it yet again, another pawn.

Lily, smiling like a cherub and holding up a wicked kitchen knife, fixed her milk-white eyes on June Darby, and leaped.

* * *

"It just doesn't make sense."

"We've expressed that before, Fowler."

The Agent scowled, turning away from Ratchet and crossing his arms. He said tiredly, "My boys can't storm the Nemesis and rescue Raf, Prime. Not without your help–"

"It's not Decepticon's," Jack whispered miserably.

Fowler was strong. He, like Optimus and Ratchet and Bulkhead, was a man of war. Jack knew that. He was expecting a skeptical glance or a dismissive snort. He was expecting, by all means, for Agent Fowler, military-man, all knowing Agent William Fowler, to shake his head and say coolly, _"nah, son, we got him a while ago. Bot's may have all that voodoo, science-fiction stuff on their side, but we humans? No. When we're gone, we're gone."_

Something comforting. Something fake.

Right now, Jack needed a little fakeness. He needed a lie, a fib, someone to bluff to him that this wasn't happening or else he feared he'd lose his sanity. He couldn't deal with it – Arcee couldn't either, from her look. Neither could Ratchet or Prime of Bee or Bulk. All of them shared the same identical looks of horror.

No. They didn't want to play this game again.

At least, not with a man like _him_.

"He's got Rafael," Fowler said, as if suddenly connecting the pieces. As if it made sense, now, and his instincts were taking over. "My God, he has the boy," his hand suddenly grasped Jack's shoulder. "You know him, Jack. He has more than one target…"

Jack already knew the answer.

"Mom."

* * *

June ducked under Lily's erratic swing and caught the woman full in the stomach, like a linebacker. The knife flew from her hand and skidded across the tiled floor.

They went tumbling. June's stomach stretched, the gauze threatening to peel right off, spilling her entrails all over the floor. She coughed up blood, glanced up just in time as Lily lashed out with a well-aimed kick to her head.

She missed. June rolled, slipping under the hospital bed and emerging on the other side. She grasped the sheets and then tossed them onto Lily, taking the opportunity to dart towards the door, reach for the handle…

Lily's arms wrapped around June's neck and pulled her back. Both women cried out. June bit Lily's hand and Lily released her, flailing back into the monitor. The noise of breaking machinery was frighteningly loud, and June hoped that someone would hear and come to her rescue…

In the meantime, she blocked a clumsy blow from Lily, spotting the knife in the center of the floor. Screaming, spittle laced with blood, June fell to her knees and outright crawled towards the knife.

Lily towered above her. The younger woman, the uninjured woman with the strong arms and cherub features, grabbed a fistful of June Darby's raven hair. June mewled in agony, hands flailing madly. Lily yanked hard and June flew back onto her rear, back smashing against the edge of the disheveled bed.

Lily slowly grasped the hilt of the knife, relishing every inch of steel. She seemed to pause, as if staring at her reflection on the cool metal. Then she thrust the knife towards June's face.

June gripped Lily's hand, and squeezed.

She squeezed until Lily gave a sharp cry.

Squeezed until her stomach ached.

Squeezed until she heard Lily's bones give way, the veins blasting and the white cartilage poked through the flesh. Then, she slapped Lily across the face and reached for the knife as it fell from Lily's snapped fingers.

With her good hand, Lily punched June twice in the face. Hard. So hard that June felt hot blood cascade from her nose and mouth, staining her white hospital gown crimson.

Finger's slippery with blood, June threw herself at Lily. The two women interlocked, one of Lily's hands curling around June's throat, the other stopping the knife. June's free hand shot up to scramble with the object effectively crushing her windpipe, but to no avail. Even though her wrist was broken, for some bizarre reason Lily was able to continue – it was like she didn't even notice the appendage was damaged.

Blood rushed through June's ears. Lily's face, which had transformed into a monstrous mask of rage, quadrupled in number, the images weaving in and out. The entire frame was shaky, as if June's world was being seen through a camera and someone was rattling the lens.

With a cry, June jabbed her hand upward.

It was quick. June hadn't meant for it to happen, really. She'd just been going for a lucky shot. A flesh wound. Something to slow Lily down.

She hadn't meant it.

The blade of the knife sunk into Lily's heart, slicing through cleanly. A little bead of blood trickled from the wound, for it had been so sudden, so precise, an immaculate action, that Lily didn't have any time to even scream.

Her mouth formed a perfect o. Pink brushed cheeks flashed red, mascara drenched eyelashes batting wildly. June, still in a battle-haze, still determined to finish the job, grunted and shoved the knife even further into her heart.

She buried it in there, all the way up to the hilt.

_Might as well finish the job_, she told herself. _I've already gone and done it in, anyway._

She barely noticed that the door had opened and a figure was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, smiling smugly.

June silently shoved Lily away. Her lifeless body fell, the knife sticking from her chest. The sight was so bizarre, so surreal that June couldn't tear her eyes away until the person at the door began clapping, slow, building up, and June felt tears erupt from her face as she stared down at the woman she'd murdered, the woman who lay in a puddle of blood that looked much too large to have come from a single person.

There was nothing she could do. No justification. Nothing. Only the man at the door. Out of self-preservation – sanity preservation, really – she went ahead and said the only thing she could think of.

"Hey, Howard."


	7. Reveal

_**A quick word to the wise, you might want to, if you haven't already, read the Sterminio Principle or the Variasi Theory before delving further into this. I don't want anyone getting confused.**_

_**Anywho, I don't own Transformers:Prime**_

* * *

"Hold it, Screamer. I think the storm's letting up."

Wheeljack's joints hissed and he crouched low, creeping towards the cave opening. Starscream stayed behind, hunched over in the shadows, legs pulled up against his narrow chest. His claws traced patterns against his armor, digging deep, but not so deep that he bled.

A dull ache had settled in his stomach. The dream had robbed him. He hadn't the energy to even follow Wheeljack, who was standing at the top of the cave, beckoning for Starscream to come.

The dream had robbed him. Just remembering the scene, the vivid detail in which he'd imagined it, sent a warm feeling traveling down his chest and spine, down towards his...

"Screamer!"

Starscream's head snapped up, and he bared his teeth. Then, grunting, he pushed himself off the ground and slowly joined Wheeljack at the mouth of the cave.

Yet another blanket of white had settled on everything in sight, tree's, ferns and rocks completely sheathed in a sparkling, thick dew that had Starscream cringing. The storm had managed to cover the tracks left by the gaping hole in Starscream's stomach; the blue energon had been whipped around, overturned and dissapeared by the blizzard.

"I bet my ship's buried halfway," Wheeljack mumbled, optics scanning the area. He placed both hands on his hip and twisted his head, peering up at Starscream. "Say, do you think you'd be able to do a quick fly-over?"

Starscream turned.

"Are you _daft_?"

Wheeljack shrugged, as if he were used to being asked such a question. You're the mighty Starscream, rightful leader of the Decepticon's. I thought you could do _anything," _his voice was oozing sarcasm, and he smirked when Starscream began to tremble with suppressed rage.

"Try me again, Autoscum..."

"Attack, and I attack back," Wheeljack's hand came up to pinch the hilt of his swords. "It's an honest question, though. We could spend hours searching for my ship on foot."

"I'm not risking it," Starscream said tiredly. His hand flew to his stomach and he murmured, "The wound could open up again if jostled the wrong way."

"Hn," Wheeljack answered, stepping out into the sunlight.

Deep footprints were left where the Autobot walked, trudging towards the dense forest ahead. Starscream darted behind, yelping when his foot caught on a rock and he fell to his knees. Wheeljack didn't so much as turn and look, though he did offer a hearty chuckle that had Starscream seething.

This was embarrasing. This entire situation, from trying to preform surgery to being picked up by a rogue Autobot, was an absolute blow to the ego he was desperately trying to reassemble. And on top of that, Eva's death was like a cannonshot to the spark, reminding him with each throb that he had failed her, his friend, his _love_.

She was probably looking down on him, laughing, jeering in that way of hers that sent Starscream's processors spinning. As he walked, he tried to replay the dream in his mind. The setting had left him but each moan and kiss, each hot touch was enough to make him forget the burning agony in his stomach.

It ended when he bumped into Wheeljack. The mech had stopped, hands flying to the hilt of his swords.

"Ah!" Starscream yelped. Then, "What is it?"

"I thought I heard something."

"Probably a rodent. This planet is _crawling_ with them," Starscream's lips twisted into an ugly frown, and he spat, energon sizzling against the snow. He pushed past Wheeljack and continued forward, squinting, searching for the familiar shape of the _Jackhammer_ amongst the white-sheet trees.

He spotted it moments later, a flash of green in the sunlight. He rushed forward, Wheeljack in tow, heeled feet kicking up snow. He called back hoarsely, "Oh, maybe you should let me drive this time! I am an expert when it comes to...sky."

"Say's the con whose too afraid to transform!"

"_Rude_," Starscream barked, shuffling to a stop. He leaned against the ship's frame, steadying his pulsing spark. He absently scratched at a loose piece of paint hanging from the flimsy gauze that covered his exposed tanks, sighing. "My reason's were perfectly sensible. You, on the other hand..." Starscream narrowed his eyes. Conversationally, he added, "You're a different story. Tell me, why go though all this trouble for a con like me?"

Wheeljack seemed stumped by the question, his suave, smart demeanor dissapearing, and then reapearring in the form of harshly bitten out words. "You were dying. Would you prefer that I'd left you?"

"A..."

"Exactly," Wheeljack snapped. He jerked his chin towards the _Jackhammer_ and said, "So shut up, get in. Oh, and you're riding shotgun." he paused, snorted, and then added, "forever."

* * *

"What's wrong, baby doll? Surprised to see me?"

June's heart felt as if someone had wrapped their hands around it and squeezed, squeezed until it burst, taking primal fear with it and replacing it with something else.

Yeah. Yeah, fear was gone.

This was _raw terror._

_My demons are back, Lord. Oh Lord, why are you sending these demons to my doorstep?_

_I'm a good person._

_I haven't done anything to deserve this._

_I'm a good. Person._

"You look hot in that gown," Howard's eyes raked over her form, and despite the fabric covering her, June felt naked. Not just phsyically, but mentally, for he'd already stripped her down from the inside and detected her weaknesses. And he knew it, with the way he was jauntily strolling into the room, into the light, where June finally was able to get a look at him.

She whimpered.

Gone was the Howard she'd married. The one she'd pledged her love too. This person, no, this _creature_ that fed off human misery, was not her husband. Her husband was cleaner. He didn't look as if he'd just dug his way out of a grave, hair matted, facial features smooth shaven but at the same time thin and pronounced, like he hadn't eaten anything in weeks.

Her husband didn't wear suites splattered with dried blood. Her husband's eyes were cold and black, like sinkholes. Black enough that June could see her own face filled with fear reflected in the dark orbs.

Eyes...eye. Singular. In June's fevered, drug ridden state, she hadn't even noticed the black cloth wrapped around his head, squeezing his dirty brown hair and covering his left eye. The color changed around then, the fabric seeming to get tougher, matter to his face by something that looked an awful lot like blood.

Her husband did not stroll into her hopsital room covered in blood.

It was madness.

"Stay away from me," June fell to her knees, weakly fumbling with the knife that potrudded from Lily's chest. June could only bear a quick look into those open, milky white eyes before she folded, crawling away.

Somewhere behind, a door slammed shut.

She vomited in a corner, rasping, sobbing. Howard's footsteps drew closer. She threw her hands up and shreiked, "Get away from me! Get away from me, get away from me, get away -"

His fingers grasped her hair and suddenly she was gasping, mouth ajar, landing heavily onto the hopsital bed. She immedietly reached to adjust her gown, but Howard stopped her.

One hand came up to clasp around her throat, the other prying apart her legs. He used his foot to pulled up the rolling chair in the corner. He sat by the edge of June's bed, holding her, squeezing her thigh. It was almost intimate. Almost.

June was greeted suddenly with a shot of Howard's face. White teeth bared, hair crazed and filthy, one eye bloodshot, the other hidden. He gently eased the pressure on June's throat.

"_Listen_..." he began, lips twisting into a frown. "Look, babe, I'm _sorry_, alright?" he cooed the words in a babysish, sing-song voice that almost caused June to puke again. "The whole mindeater thing...it was nothing personal. I just wanted us all to be a family again," Howard giggled. "One big, happy family. And it almost got me killed!"

June struggled, but to no avail.

"Wait, wait," he laughed. "So rude of me...you're probably _won_-_during _why I'm here and not down there in hell," Howard tapped at the ground with his foot. "Truth be told, I wish I was down there instead of up here. But what can ya' do," Howard rolled his eyes. "I was dying, alright? All bloody. Like someone had spilled a whole bottle of wine on the concrete and I'd just gone and...jumped in it. Like a pool. Do you like pools?"

June didn't reply. The topic change had left her befuddled. Staring harder, she could seem the insanity swimming in Howard's eyes.

Last time, he'd had intellegence on his side. And while that was still true, something else was in there...a mental thing. A mental switch, and someone had turned it off.

He'd truly gone insane.

Tears prickled at the corner of June's vision.

"Shhh," Howard whispered. To June's horror, he leaned down and sloppily kissed the tears away. "Don't cry. All I asked was a question. You just gotta answer, babe. Answer me."

No reply.

"_Answer_ _me_!"

He lifted June and slammed her down onto the bed. The blow caused the air to rush from June's lungs, and his grip on her throat tightened the point that she saw hot spots dancing across her vision.

She gasped out, "Yes, yes I like swimming pools."

"Yay!" Howard piped cheerily, clapping his hands. He was grinning now, and his voice of changed. It didn't belomg to a madman anymore. It belonged to a happy little girl with bouncy blonde curls and cotton-candy stained fingers.

Silence. Howard stared at June intensely, pondering over his next words, leaving June to beg, "Please, please Howard...let me go. Stop this. Stop."

_"Come back, Howard, please..."_

_"Remember why I married you, Howard? Why I loved you?"_

The man's eyes were distant, as if not quite noticing that it was his ex-wife before him. Like it was someone else. Just someone else.

"Nope," he said, and rolled forward. He stroked June's cheek with the back of his hand and said, "But you are gorgeous. So, so pretty. My pretty little June, hotter than the month," he smiled again. "And I have you all alone..." he giggled, and then his face fell. "Wait, no, no. I have to do what he told me too...I have to find him..."

"Find who, Howard?" June said calmly, gripping his wrist.

"My boss. My master. I seve him, you know?" Howard nodded, answering his own question. "I do. And he brought me here - well, somewhere like here."

"Howard..."

The man clapped his hands together once again. "Oh, yes. I'm going to find him. I have to find him or else he'll be mad. He's a grumpy fellow," Howard stood. His face changed from joyous to crazed and suddenly June was airborne, face inches from her husbands. He held her tightly by the shoulders. "I wanted you to help me, June. Help me find him. It's why I used a mindeater on Lily."

"She tried to kill me," June croaked.

"But you messed up the game and killed her back," Howard pouted. A devious smile flickered across his face. "I just wanted _you, _June. Dead or alive. It doesn't matter," he leaned forward and kissed June's cheek, and that was when she felt the bile rise in the back of her throat. "You'd still be fun to play with, either way."

June began to cry. Heavy sobs that had Howard kissing her again, murmuring words into her ears. Then he tossed her back onto the bed like a rag doll, kicked up the bars on the bed, and then began to wheel her out the door.

Down the hallway. June was horrified to find that it was vacant.

When they got outside, she found out why.

Bodies littered the parking lot. Standing in the center were three Decepticon's. Vehicon's, by the looks of it.

June leaned over and vomited again, but there was nothing left.

"Miss Darby?" a tentative, shaky voice asked.

June's head snapped upward. Rafael sat on the steps of the hopsital, next to the blackened corpse of a nurse. Someone June knew. She didn't have to read the nametag.

Martha. That was her name. And Rafeal was sitting close enough to touch her.

"Raffy, my boy!" Howard exclaimed loudly. "Enjoy the show? Front row tickets, boy! I bet you could hear the screams all the way to China."

"They didn't scream much," Raf shook his head, covered his face with his hands, and began to cry, too.

"Whatever," Howard spat. Then, he tilted the bed and June in her shredded hospital gown and no shoes, spilled out onto the concrete. Grunting, she rolled away from Howard and rushed over to Raf, ignoring the fact that she was barely decent. She grabbed the boy and pulled him away from the bodies, nearly stumbling over one herself.

In the distance, a siren wailed.

"Oh," Howard cursed and glanced at his watch. He gestured towards the three Vehicon's, and they transformed, two flying, the other fishtailing before whipping around to roll to a stop next to Howard.

"Why are you doing this, Howard?" June stammered, wrapping her arms around Raf and pulling him away when her ex-husband stepped forward, head tilting to the side like an owl. "What will this accomplish, working for Megatron?"

"Not for, _with. _And c'mon, Baby Doll, it's only temporary. Why, he doesn't even know that I have the boy!"

"But..." Raf began.

"But, but, I want my mommy!" Howard mocked, pretending to sob and rub his eyes. "Working with Megatron has expanded my technological knowledge. My mindeaters? Now they can control humans and Cybertronians and anything else that moves, really, without a hitch. And that allows me to go on some needed field trips."

"Yes, but why us?"

I need you as bait, Rafael. And June? I need you as entertainment. God knows I'll need it," he winked. "Cover your ears boy," he spoke specifically to June. "It's been a while since I've felt your mouth on me. I hope you haven't lost your touch."

June snarled, disgusted.

"Anywho," Howard wrenched open the door, "I'm after something. Someone. Megatron isn't, but I don't care what Megatron says. And if I don't find this someone, I'm going to be very upset. Now get in."

"No."

Howard made a gesture. The Vehicon revved it engine and suddenly it was transforming, stumbling awkwardly, under the influence of the mindeaters towards June and Raf. Raf shrieked. June howled and threw up her arms but the massive hands were already on her, engulfing both her and Raf.

The world was a blur of colors. A warm seat appeared beneath her and a belt flew across her chest, strapping her in. She glanced to the side and saw that the same had happened to Raf, and that he was crying, struggling, calling for help.

_"We're going on an adventure!" _Howard sang, his voice off key. "Please keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle, ladies and gentlemen, unless you want to lose a limb. I'd prefer that we go blood-free during this escapade," he slammed the door shut, and the Vehicon took off, June and Raf in the back, Howard smiling like a maniac in the passengers seat. "Good dogs."

"Where are we going?" Raf sobbed.

Howard's fingers dug into the Vehicon's warm cushion, and his cheek pressed against the side of the seat. For the first time he was silent.

No snide remark.

No sociopathic sentence.

Just a smile and a few words, soft as a breeze but so much more powerful.

"We're going to find the Timelord so he can send me _home_."


	8. Titan

"We're hitting this," Jack hissed. He'd pull Arcee off to the side, away from the clamor and the rest of the Autobots as they rushed back and forth, awaiting Fowler's inevitable arrival. He pulled his coat tighter, despite the lack of frigid air, and glanced up at Arcee.

The femme looked doubtful. She folded arms across her chest and replied, "It's too dangerous."

"That hasn't stopped me before," Jack responded. "You know that. It never will, not when my mom's life is at stake."

Arcee's brows dipped, and she looked vaguely uncomfortable. Disturbed, even. "You know your father. He...he'll keep June alive for as long as he can."

"Until he get's tired of her."

Arcee sighed heavily. She shifted her weight onto one foot, and then knelt down, letting her face hover before Jack's. "I know this means a lot to you, Jack, but we don't know what we're dealing with. We'd be running in blind."

"We could always call for backup."

"But at what stake?"

Jack's eyes flickered dangerously, and he clenched his fist. Then he began to walk, talking small, tentative steps towards the tunnel that led outside the base. He heard a thud, and suddenly Arcee was standing before him, kneeling once more. She extended a hand and Jack found himself bumping into a metal palm.

"Hold it," she hissed coolly. Her optics darted around, and when Jack opened his mouth to speak, she shushed him. She seemed to zero in on Optimus and Ratchet, who had their backs turned, and then gaze at the hallway that led further into the base, where Bumblebee and Bulkhead had retreated to get some much needed rest.

Softly, she said, "What do you have in mind?"

"Go to the hospital. Scope out that area, follow any trail we can find. If there is one - Bulkhead said that they had fliers."

"And if we do find a trail?"

Jack shrugged, watching Arcee transform down, slowly and, remarkably, quietly. As soon as her tires touched the cool floor, Jack climbed on, gripping the handlebars and casting a final look at Optimus and Ratchet. His mouth pressed into a thin line.

"Jack..." Arcee whispered.

"We follow it," Jack said simply, a smirk gracing his lips.

And then they set off.

* * *

"Pull over here," Howard instructed, leaning forward and bracing his hands against the dashboard. "Right...here."

The Vehicon slid to a stop, tires kicking up dirt. The other two rolled up beside him, transforming even as Howard stepped out, dragging June and Raf by their collars. When all three Cybertronian's were standing upright, peering down at them, he shoved June and Raf to the ground.

The pain came, then.

Exploding in June's stomach, like she'd been shot. Like someone had loaded a rocket launcher and stuck it against her torso and _boom_.

Raf was at her side, helping her, fingers scrabbling against her pale, sweaty skin. Howard was watching with mild fascination. The three Vehicon's were stoic, bound by the will of the mindeater devices.

"Walk," Howard commanded. "We walk from here."

A thick chunk of sweaty raven hair fell before June's face, blocking her vision. She shoved it away, panting, glaring daggers at Howard before stumbling forward, Raf helping to support her frail frame. Dew speckled grass squelched underneath her bare feet, the hospital gown providing little protection from the cold. How she wished she had shoes. Or clothes. Anything other than this.

She hissed in pain when a rock cut deep into her skin, digging into the sole of her feet. She hissed in anger when, suddenly, Howard laughed and slapped a hand against her rear, urging her forward like a horse. He howled, "We're coming, my dear Timelord! I've done everything you've told me! I've done it all!"

"Who..." June began hoarsely.

Howard threw back his head and sighed, running fingers through his brown, matted hair. "You're a woman of science, kind of...you're intelligent."

It was a true compliment. One of the few June had heard from him that didn't involve some sort of sick, sexual innuendo. She glanced at Raf, who gulped and shook his head, before gently pushing the boy to the side. She faced Howard, hunched over, fist clenched. "Why are you doing this?"

"I've been on a mission, June, and ever since we were married, I've been bound to the patron of this mission," Howard giggled, skipping forward. "You enjoy mythology, correct?"

June didn't reply.

Howard rolled his eyes, and then bared sharp, mud speckled teeth. "Answer. Me."

"Yes," Raf replied. Howard's head snapped to the side, and he crept towards Raf, shoulder's hunched like a vulture. In the dim light, he almost did look like a vulture - or, at least, something that didn't deserve to live.

"You do?" he said silkily. "You must be _so smart_. You're familiar with Father Time, correct?"

Raf nodded.

"Don't tell me..." June stuttered.

"No!" Howard barked. He spun, searching for June. He found her sitting on her hunches, weakened from the sudden flare of agony in her stomach. Her legs were splattered with mud, as was her hair. He grinned savagely and whispered, "My master...he is Father Time. He is...time. The _epitome_ of time. And he gave me a _mission_," Howard chuckled.

"You're insane, Mr. Darby!" Raf suddenly yelled.

Howard snarled, the sound reverberating through his chest and coming out feral. June scrambled to her feet. Raf darted away as a Vehicon reached for him, plowing into June and sending the two tumbling.

June landed hard. Pain rippled through her. She screamed.

Howard laughed.

He clapped his hands together, giggling gleefully, like a child. He towered over June's writhing form and reached down, grabbing her feet, pulling them upward. June's back arched. Her torn nails clawed at the dirt.

Howard had her ankles in a vice grip and as June watched his hand flew to the pocket of his coat, rummaging through the fabric. He pulled out something small, but sharp that glistened in the moonlight.

A pocketknife.

June sobbed incomprehensible words. Raf knelt by her head, torn between running and crying and...

In a sudden burst of bravery, the boy lunged at Howard, tackling his knees. Howard cursed and dropped the knife, allowing for June to kick away madly.

Rafael fought as if he were rabid, screeching, throwing punches at anything that moved. Howard seemed amused, even when the boy landed punch after punch against his abdomen, kicked his knees, tried to bite his hand as it swept forward but missed; the boy's head snapped to the side as Howard landed a massive backhand blow that sent Raf sprawling.

Howard kicked the boy in the stomach.

"Stop!" June howled, falling forward, tears blurring her vision. Howard was just a dark shape now, almost like a reflection obscured by ripples in a pond. So much better than actually seeing him, pinioned as he walked across the grass, giggling.

He clicked his tongue and a Vehicon secured Raf's curled body.

June collapsed, helpless.

"The boy has some fight in him," he said conversationally, picking up his pocketknife with careful fingers. He reached down, grasping both ankles in one hand, licking the tip of the pocketknife. He seemed to stop, observing the view, for June's hospital gown was crumpled and disheveled, giving him a more than an indecorous view. He bit his bottom lip, raising his eyebrows and shifting back and forth from one foot to the other.

"You..._excite_ me," he purred. "It's a shame I didn't do this ten years ago. You were younger back then, much more fun. I suppose all of them are."

"Howard," June croaked. "You...you were talking about your leader...you follow him. Father Time. What is he? What's this mission you're talking about?"

The pocketknife was just brushing against the tender skin on the sole of her foot when Howard stopped, frowning and replying, "Ah, yes, the mission...Father Time...he took me from my home and told me that he wanted me to do something. That...that humanity and Cybetronian's both had to pay for corrupting the universe. That we'd failed to venerate him as he'd intended, and that we _all_ had to pay."

"Who are you talking about?" June said.

"Father Time, of course! Saturn! Chronos! He goes by so many names, but he took me from my home-"

"What home?"

Howard bared his teeth and then dug the pocketknife into the bottom of June's foot.

June had a vast knowledge of the human body. She knew what hurt and what didn't. She knew where the nerves endings were, the veins and the receptors and everything else.

She knew, as soon as they knife sunk into the layer of nerves, that he'd hit home. He was a scientist, after all.

Her back stretched and a feral shriek of agony clawed it's way from her throat. Blood bubbled from the wound, and new, hot tears burst from June's eyes. Her hands scrambled at the ground. She tried to kick, but Howard's grip was too strong.

It hurt.

So much. So much. Like a million migraine's, gunshot, all coiled up and stuck right_ there...right..._

"_Yes_," Howard hissed. "_Scream_ for me _again_, babe. C'mon..."

June whimpered, jerking her legs, bunching her knees. A mewl emitted from her mouth when Howard carved another slash onto her foot, eyes dancing madly, something akin to lust swimming in his eyes; sexual, intimate, as if he'd dreamed of doing this. As if, during all their romantic times together, from their kissing to touching to making Jack, _this_ was what he'd wanted. _This_ was what he believed to be true pleasure.

"_Stop_..." June wailed, feeling another slash. More pressure. More pain. "_Stop it, Howard, stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for whatever I did to you! I'm sorry for everything_..."

"Oh, you didn't do anything wrong, baby," Howard murmured. "You're just so much fun. You're a toy, Juny-bear. A toy. And you know what? Maybe I'll ask Chronos if he'll let me keep you as a reward. I did do exactly what he told me to do, after all!"

_Why are you doing this to me?_ June wanted to beg, but her tongue felt huge in her mouth; raw from screaming, raw from begging. Her mind was gone. She'd put of with the pain and then, maybe, if Howard released her, crawl towards the nearest tree and beat her head against it until her skull cracked and her brain spilled out onto the grass. She wanted to die. She had to die. Someone had to end her, kill her now before Howard caused her any more pain.

June lost consciousness then. Her mind drifted.

She dreamed for cotton candy and cherries and a sky with pink clouds and a world free from any trouble, and she was there with Jack and Arcee and all the Autobots, and they were smiling.

It was the happiest dream she'd ever had.


	9. Forest

"So," Wheeljack said, fingers drumming against the dashboard, "tell me more about this...Eva Bishop girl."

Starscream, who sat hunched in the seat next to him, lurched forward and gasped. He struggled to control his venting, wrapping long arms around his torso, dipping his head to hide the agonized expression that had washed over his face.

Wheeljack chuckled. Watching the Seeker squirm was amusing, even if he was touching upon a sensitive subject. Bringing up a mechs dead mate, human or not, was not something Cybertronian's usually trifled with.

Even as a rogue, Starscream was still technically a Decepticon, so the guilt didn't flood Wheeljack like it normally would. Maybe a small flash, like a pinprick, but it slowly disappeared as Starscream lifted his head, gnawing on his bottom lip.

"She was wonderful."

Wheeljack shook his head, leaning back. "Nah, con! A rogue like me doesn't see enough femme's! In depth, from her toes to her…her…"

"Hair," Starscream murmured.

"Yeah. I need something to think about. Who knows? Maybe it'll help you, too."

Wheeljack watched as the Seeker draped a hand across his optics, sighing dramatically. Beneath the false act Wheeljack could see that his hands were trembling and he was trying not to break down into a fit of sobs.

Poor con. Her death had hit him harder than Wheeljack had expected.

Starscream said shakily, "the more I think about her, the more beautiful she gets. You understand that, don't you, Autobot? So sensitive females can be…I should have complimented her more."

"Yeah, yeah," Wheeljack murmured, feeling his own spark clench. Then, louder, "What did she look like?"

"Red hair," Starscream murmured, wrapping his arms around himself. "Like fire. Kind of short…average, I suppose, for a human. Average build as well. Dark eyes. Silent at first…" Starscream smirked, and Wheeljack caught his small smile afterward. "You'd better have _a lot_ of patience once you get to know her."

"I assume you failed in that department."

"You _could _say that…working with Megatron _has_ provided me with some skills, per say," Starscream lifted his head a few inches. "You wouldn't have lasted a day."

"I've lasted that long with you."

Wheeljack chuckled and Starscream sucked in a breath, deflated. The _Jackhammer_ burst through the clouds, a speeding bullet, weaving through the snowcapped mountaintops. Wheeljack angled the ship downward, aiming for a small clearing devoid of any foliage.

"As a rogue Decepticon, you must have learned _something _from me," Starscream said, placing a hand against his chest. "I'm almost flattered. I'm a walking lesson and I didn't even know it – say, am I the first Decepticon you've picked up?"

"Yep," Wheeljack replied. "And you're not as bad as I suspected."

"I'm lovesick and injured," Starscream grumbled. "At my prime, I'd have you trembling –"

" –doubt it–"

" –with fear. Come now, you don't believe me?"

"You'd most likely have that girl with you. And if her death was enough to 'purify' you, I can imagine what her physical influence would be. She doesn't sound like the type of femme to urge the murder of a defenseless creature," a beat. Then, "Not saying that you'd render me defenseless…"

"Just you watch, Autobot."

"Is that a challenge?" Wheeljack replied jokingly. He scanned the Seeker's face, but found no hint of raillery. He rolled his eyes and leaned against the chair, arms stretching taut as he maneuvered the _Jackhammer _to a stop.

"No," the Seeker finally answered, after Wheeljack had switched the ship off. The lack of a thrumming engine doused the small cabin in silence. "Just…a warning," Starscream's head snapped up and he scanned the forest before him, narrowing his eyes. "Why have we stopped?"

"We've reached our destination," Wheeljack replied, smiling. He took pleasure in the Decepticon's puzzled expression. The poor mech had no idea.

"We've been searching for something?"

"Or someone," Wheeljack leaped from the Jackhammer, brandishing his swords, shining them in the light. He squinted, and then turned as Starscream squeezed awkwardly through the narrow door. He hissed when his wings bent, but refused Wheeljack's offering hand. Wheeljack continued, "I've been tracking this signal for some time; I was in the human colony called Paris when it sprang up, so I booked it, hard, back to the States. Picked you up on the way. You should be grateful."

"I was never _un_grateful…more like humiliated."

"I wasn't the one tearing out your tanks," Wheeljack snapped. He slid his swords back into their sheaths, turning his back on the Seeker. "Let's go. The lake isn't far from here."

"Lake?"

Stifling a laugh, Wheeljack turned, spreading his arms wide as he retreated into the forest. "Please, tell me Seekers know how to do the opposite of flying!"

* * *

"Move, cow!"

June awoke. Someone was kicking her repeatedly in the ribs, not hard enough that they broke but hard enough that, surely, there would be bruises.

Someone had to end her. The throbbing in her feet was too much to bare, and her feverish brain could barely make out Howard as he stopped in front of her, snarling, bloody pocketknife still clutched between dirt covered fingers.

He waved it in front of June's vision. "How'd you like me to carve that gorgeous face of yours? Huh? Give you a nice smile…" he rubbed the edge of the knife against her blood splattered cheeks, giggling. "Oh, how that would set me off…"

"You…you get off on human suffering?"

Howard dragged June to her feet, and almost immediately, she collapsed down in pain, hissing, shrieking, clawing at the dirt. She didn't want to give this monster the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

"Oh, _all the time_," he grabbed her once again, allowing her to wrap an arm around his shoulder – much to her disgust – and began to walk through the trees, Rafael and the Decepticon's trailing close behind. He spoke conversationally, occasionally allowing his hand, which held June's waist for support, creep under her gown and stroke her bare back. He leaned over, running a tongue against June's ear, and then said, "Sometime my own pain makes me…_aroused_."

June shoved herself away, put pressure on her feet, shrieked, and landed on her hands and knees.

That earned a cackle from Howard and a cry of anguish from Rafael, who was still struggling foolishly to escape the Vehicon's grasp.

Howard's head snapped to the side, like a vulture, and he scowled before grinning from ear to ear. He skipped over June's body, slamming a foot into her side so she grunted, flailing, landing on her back. June kicked madly at the ground, but to no avail, for he was on her, straddling her waist as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Listen, babe," he cooed, rough hands curling around her throat. June's hands shot up reflexively, prying at his wrist. "I surprised you don't remember this. I mean, it was only a few years ago…I had you, pinned to the bed – _our _bed – but you were _much_ more cooperative back then…"

June whimpered, and as if reading her mind, Howard clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Here? Nah. Not in front of the kid," Howard jerked his chin towards Rafael. "But _soon_. I'll plead to my master, allow for me to take you as a reward. Live prey always look nice mounted on a wall. You're no exception."

"Stop it!" Raf managed to squeak.

"Shut up, kid!" Howard barked a reply. "Can't you see mommy and I are having a discussion? It's _rude _to interrupt _adults _when they're _talking_ – go busy yourself with your school work!"

In some sort of twisted emphasis, Howard slapped June across the face so hard that she saw stars and tasted blood.

"_Please_!" Raf choked.

"_Please_? Where are your manners, boy!" Howard smashed his fist against June's head again, and she howled, biting at his hand. She made a solid hit, sinking her teeth into the flesh, pulling.

He giggled.

June released him, spitting out the blood.

"Tell this boy that he'd being rude! He's your son, June!"

"What…no, no he's…"

"Tell your son he's being rude!" Howard cried. Then, a shrill shriek, "_Tell him that he has to listen to his daddy!"_

The forest was engulfed in silence. June could hear everything. The chirp of crickets. The skittering of rodents. The soft crunch of the Vehicon's feet as they padded forward. Raf's ragged breathing. Howard fingers as they ran across the smooth, blood splattered pulse on June's neck.

And June Darby, her heart thudding so loudly that it threatened to break the surreal silence.

Finally, she said quietly, calmly, "_Rafael_…I need you to hush," she blinked away tears. "Hush, listen to daddy, and let mommy take care of everything else…"

Howard smiled, and it was a stupid smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He leaned down, nuzzling June's throat, licking the pulse before pulling away and kissing her once, twice, full on the lips.

"Good girl," he climbed off, and then gestured for her to stand. "Up, babe. We haven't got all day."

"I…I can't stand," June whispered hoarsely. "I feel…heavy."

"Oh, you just haven't been getting enough exercise lately," Howard said cheerfully, chuckling at his own cruel joke. "Up ya' go, babe."

"Quite calling me 'babe,'" June snapped.

"Alright," he groaned. "Honesysuckle. Sweet pea. Love. Cupcake. Muffin top. All those good? I have tons more…" he trailed off, eyes flickering wildly. "Ah, yes, back to the topic. Get. Up."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll have them kill the boy. Don't think I'll do it?" he waved a hand. "Go ahead, give him a squeeze!"

Raf screamed.

June was up like a rocket, but her feet gave way and she slipped in a puddle of blood and mud before sprawling out onto her stomach, the leaves beneath cool to the touch.

"I'll crawl," she whimpered. "Just…don't hurt him! Kill me if you have too, but _please_…don't hurt the child…"

Howard stared at his ex-wife for a long, long moment.

Then, he clapped his hands together. "Alrighty! The lake is just a little ways away…not a strenuous walk, but we may get cut back…"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to crawl, June Darby," Howard whispered. Then, almost in a gaily executed, sing-song voice, he said, "On your knees you'll crawl to Chronos."


	10. Arrive

Jack and Arcee stopped by the hospital first, weaving easily through traffic with little disregard. In Jack's mind, they were in a hurry, and while the anger of the humans stuck behind the wheel was palpable, he really didn't give it a second thought.

Arcee's tires skidded across the asphalt, nearly pitching Jack off the side – he kept a firm grip, something both he and Arcee had become accustomed to – and planted a foot against the ground, not bothering to take off his helmet.

The hospital was in an uproar.

Bodies were being rolled away from the scene, police lights reflecting off the shattered glass that littered the parking area, some flaked with dried blood. The double doors to the hospital had been blown off their hinges, crumpled masses that lay smashed into the roofs of two unlucky employee vehicles.

Sires shrieked. People shrieked in pain and grief and fear, the surviving nurses and doctors doing the best they could to salvage any remaining bodies and help the injured.

Not one person paid any mind to the boy lingering behind the scenes, slumped across a blue motorcycle.

"He was here," Jack said dully, voice muffled behind the tinted shades of his helmet. Arcee revved her engine in response.

Quietly, she said, "And you want to go after him? Jack, this is _big_. Big, even for your father. He's not operating solo anymore."

"You think he's not capable of doing something like this alone?" Jack asked, tilting his head.

"I think he's capable, but not without someone noticing," Arcee replied somberly. "Us. Decepticons. Fowler. M.E.C.H, even, if they're still as active as they were before."

"Uh-huh," Jack said, nodding, watching the scene before him. A woman was writhing on the ground, trying to stem the flow of blood from her two severed legs. Medics rushed in, blocking Jack's view, but her screams pierced the air, as loud as the police sirens and ten times more frightening.

He suddenly felt very, very nauseous. He whirled away and climbed back onto Arcee, gripping the handlebar and trying to calm his pounding heart.

"Jack?"

"Yeah," Jack said shakily. The small screen before him wavered, Arcee's voice filtering through the speakers and laced with worry.

"Are you alright? We can always go back…"

"No. No, I'm sticking with this. We've spent enough time calculating, weighing our options, whatever. I'm not letting my dad get away with this a second time," he dug his feet into Arcee's side, and the femme burst into motion, fishtailing wildly before slipping between two parked cars and leaping out onto the main road.

"Watch out, dad," Jack murmured. "Here…I…come."

* * *

"_Aaaah_!"

June screamed. Howard smashed the branch against her shoulder again, the thick thorns slicing through her gown and skin, cutting deep, drawing blood.

She darted forward, tripped over a branch, and went sprawling out into a snow-brushed clearing. A cold wind hit her, shocked her back into reality, causing her to momentarily forget the blood running down her back and the intense, burning agony in her feet.

"Remember this place, June-bee?" Howard purred. One hand came to touch June's bare back, and she shuddered. "This was where we had our first date – you told Jack about it, right? He knows where this place is?"

"Why do you want to know?" June slurred. Fatigue was causing her to slip, the ground pitching beneath her. Once again, she went sprawling, coughing and crawling like a madwoman.

Towards the lake. The lake that glittered black in the darkness. Icy grass crunched beneath her, wetness soaking through the one item of clothing that she wore, soaking it too the core.

She hoped Howard couldn't see very well in the dark. She was almost tempted to tear the garment off; it was uncomfortable. In any other circumstance, she'd rather have been naked. But this was Howard. This was a…_creature._ A lust driven _creature_.

She wasn't going to do that to herself. She couldn't. And in front of _Raf_…

"Nurse Darby?" Raf's shaky voice called, almost as if on cue, from the firm grip of a Vehicon. "What's he talking about?"

June didn't reply. Her eyes were dead set, so focused that she barely noticed Howard's boots press into the grass next to her head.

"We're here," he said, sighing. He began to fiddle with his watch, ripping it from his skin. He stared, frowning, before saying, "And we have a minute to spare…oh, well, he was never bothered…you know what they say, 'the early bird gets the worm,'" he chuckled, the sound high-pitched and hysterical. He held up the watch, letting the moonlight glint off the metal.

June glared hatred up at him.

"That was a fun walk, don't you think?" Howard giggled, kneeling next to June. He let his eyes rake over her body. He was visibly shaking, fist clenching and unclenching out of some sick desire. He lowered his voice and hissed, "What was I thinking, kidnapping the kid? He's dead weight. I can't do half the things to you that I want to do…"

Silence. June's head hung, for she was lost. Done in. Too tired to carry on. Howard's words slipped past her eardrums, but for some reason her brain refused to analyze them.

And still the agony in her feet and shoulder and stomach and back burned on.

"Kill me," she whispered groggily.

"Huh?"

"Kill me," she said, louder. "Kill me, Howard James Darby. I want you to do it. Right here, right now."

"Oh, not this again," Howard clicked his tongue in annoyance. He took note of June's shivering and tore off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders in a seemingly faultless act of comfort. "Baby, I can't kill you. I can't let you kill yourself, either," he stroked her cheek with his knuckles. "You have to meet my master, first."

He glanced at his watch. Thirty seconds.

"I don't want to," June mumbled, hating herself for sounding like a child.

Howard replied by grabbing her injured shoulder – she hissed, but did not allow him the joy of hearing her scream – and hauled her up, gesturing for the Vehicon's to follow. They staggered to the water's edge, June's head lolling back, glassy eyes gazing at the stars.

She got a brief glimpse of Howard tossing the watch into the water, with only five seconds to spare. It sank with a soft _plop._

"It should be any moment now," Howard said eagerly, releasing June. She fell into a puddle and cried out.

Almost simultaneously, she heard a sharp whistling noise. She turned just in time to see a Vehicon's head bounce, and then roll towards Howard. The human leaped out of the way as if splashed into the surf, sending up a spray of water that doused June even further.

The object that had beheaded the Vehicon lodged itself into a tree, slicing it clean-cut, punching all the way through.

It was a huge, elegant Cybertronian sword.

June scrambled to her feet, but Howard wrapped his arms around her in a vice grip. Snarling, his head whipped back and forth, scanning the trees.

"Who's attacking?" He howled, spinning around, pulling June with him.

He received an almost immediate answer. Through the trees came a sharp whistling noise, the sound of approaching footsteps that shook the ground beneath June's feet. In the dim light she saw the missile, almost invisible with speed, streak through the air and wavering slightly.

The Vehicon holding Raf was not a target, however the other Vehicon was. The Vehicon flailed away and the missile missed him by inches. The action sent him tumbling into his comrade, both crashing to the ground.

"Raf!" June cried, lurched forward, and was stopped by Howard's strong arms.

The concussive force of the missile, the eruption of heat, seared the back of June's arms and legs, knocking both her and Howard to the ground. A swell of fire melted the light snow and demolished trees, lighting up the clearing, reflecting off the lake's surface.

Despite the debris that rained down upon her, June managed to lift her head, spit out dirt, and see a limping, bloody Raf as he struggled out of the Vehicon's grip.

She kicked away from Howard and ran towards him, heedless.

Rafael screamed as the Vehicon thrashed its way from beneath his comrade, claws stretching…

_Blam! _

The Vehicon's hand exploded. Little shards of metal dug into June's legs and she fell, shouting. The Vehicon stared at his missing limb, seemingly transfixed, oblivious as his partner writhed his way out from under him.

Pounding footsteps, a vicious snarl, and June saw as massive shape hop over the Vehicon with the missing limb and hurtle into the other, tumbling to the ground, two solid masses of metal. The orange glow from the raging fire nearby provided June with some sense of vision; she saw silver armor and jutting wings and glowing red eyes…

Another Decepticon!

Her fevered brain couldn't make sense of it, even as the silver mech began to dismember one of its own kind with little regard. She cast a glance back at Howard, who was standing rigid, head darting back and forth between the battle and the shimmering lake which, as June stared harder, had begun to bubble.

More thundering footsteps. Another Cybertronian erupted from the forest wielding a single sword, stopping, figure outlined by the flickering flames. June breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the Autobot insignia stapled on his frame.

"Nurse Darby, we need to get out of here," it was Rafael, kneeling next to her. His glasses were cracked and his hair astray atop his head. His hands were gently touching June's bloody back, as if trying to urge her to her feet. "We _need _to get out of here!"

June gulped, and despite the frigid night air and the wet ground beneath her, she was still sweating. Adrenaline. It made her forget the pain in her stomach and back and legs and feet, forget the bruises forming on her beck and waist, gave her the strength to drag herself up and wrap protecting arms around the boy standing next to her.

A low moan caused her to look up. The Vehicon with the missing hand was up, and quicker than June had imagined, was lunging for her and Raf…

An equally large object collided with him in midair. They rolled across the ground, barely missing the second fight – or slaughter fest – that was occurring next to the forest edge.

June backed away, pulling Raf towards her. She gasped when she felt a rough hand on her shoulder, a non-threatening gesture, but at the same time, terrifying.

"Calm it down, babe," Howard muttered. He stood watching the bubbling water, brows creased. "It's almost over."

June squeezed Raf and observed the fight from afar. The silver, winged Decepticon used his claws to render the Vehicon limbless and then sever his head with a cleanly executed blow that left the ground tainted with energon.

The winged Decepticon's head snapped to the side, optics zooming in on the three humans. He mouthed something incomprehensible before leaping towards the Autobot and his opponent, taking long strides. The Autobot had his Vehicon in a chokehold from behind.

The winged Decepticon took his time disassembling the Vehicon, tossing limbs into the raging flames that their way out into the clearing, melting the snow and killing the grass.

It was all over. In a few short minutes, it had ended.

Or begun. June didn't know. Howard's maniacal cackle overshadowed the sound of untamed fire.

"Fantastic display," he clapped his hands, stepping forward. "And just in time. However, I am suffering from just a tad bit of confusion…" he tilted his head to the side. "An Autobot and a Decepticon…together, battling together…what has the world come too?"

"We're just here for the boy, fleshling. And the woman," the Autobot spoke gruffly.

June whispered to Raf, "And who are they? Do you know them?"

"The Decepticon is Megatron's second-in-command, Starscream, and the Autobot is Wheeljack. He's a friend of Bulkheads."

"And Starscream?"

"His title speaks for itself. I don't know what they're doing together, though," Raf adjusted his glasses. "They _should_ be trying to maim each other…"

June snorted.

"We're having a party," Howard giggled. He swept his hand behind him. The thin, seemingly invisible chunk of ice that layered parts of the lake had begun to crack, break apart, the sound like soft thunder. Water rushed to the surface, overflowing.

Beneath the thin sheet, something was glowing, rising towards the surface.

"See, Megatron allowed me to survive because he saw my…value. How much I'd meant to Silas and M.E.C.H – in the conventional sense, at least – and he'd allowed me a place in his ranks," he touched his face, and June reared back, startled. He'd lost the bandana sometime during the trip, revealing his black eyes.

Almost black. Blood had seeped from the hidden orb, drying to his cheek. "He punished me," Howard continued. "Ripped out my eyeball…hah!" he doubled over, clutching his chest, body racked with fits of laughter. "As if I _needed_ it. He had that pesky doctor modify it, and then put it back inside me…I can see better, now. I can see all of you better than I could before. Juny," he crooned, "I can see every pore on your skin, every fleck. Your expressions are like _magic._ And _you_," he pointed to Starscream with a shaky finger, "I can see every dent, every scratch on your armor…Megatron's doing, I suppose?"

The silver mech stared at the ground uncomfortably.

"And that scar across your gut…what'd you _do _to yourself, huh?"

Starscream started forward, but Wheeljack jerked him back.

Once again, June's eyes were drawn to the lake. The glow dominated her field of vision.

All the while, Howard was chuckling like a maniac. When he finally calmed, he clasped his hands together and said softly, "You shouldn't have followed us here, _Wheeljack_," he glared at the Autobot, "_Starscream_. Because of you, you're all going to _die,_" he giggled. "My master will kill all of you."

In that moment, a massive, clawed hand crashed through the ice, digging into the muddy bank.

Then another. Then the head.

That was when June started to scream.

* * *

Jack heard the howl and urged Arcee forward. She skidded down the path, little flakes of snow dislodged from the branches above slapping Jack's helmet, blocking his view. One hand clutching the handlebar, the other coming up to wipe away the blockage, he was able to keep his grip as Arcee's tires slapped through mud.

It was a scream. An inhumane noise, like something from the pits of hell. Like something from his nightmares.

He immediately knew that it was his mother.

Arcee skidded to a stop, and, almost unnecessarily, Jack kicked her side.

"What are you doing?"

"Stopping to make sure _you_ know what you're doing!" Arcee replied, darting forward, nearly sending Jack flailing into the mud. "_Listen_ to me, Jackson Darby, _this. Is. Not. A. Game_. This isn't Megatron we're dealing with…"

"I know, it's my dad…"

"No. No," Arcee said, voice thick with emotion. "This is something else. This is worse…I…I can feel something in my spark, Jack," her entire frame began to shake. "Oh, _Primus_, this is so much _worse_…"

"Arcee?" Jack said steadily.

"We have to turn back."

"_No_," Jack's mouth was dry. "Push forward."

"Jack…"

"_Do it_, Arcee!" Jack replied. "You've never been afraid of anything. I've never seen you afraid of anything. You want to protect your partner? We're starting with my mom. She's just as much of a family to you as I am. We're in this together, alright!"

"No bot left behind," Arcee murmured.

"Even of that bot is tiny and squishy," Jack added. He craned his neck, peering through the forest. "I know where they are. I say we have a couple miles to go – maybe less."

"Then let's go," Arcee said. "Oh, and Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do if you see your father?"

Silence. Arcee began to speed up, trees whipping by Jack at lightning speed. It was almost surreal.

Almost.

"I'm going to kill him," Jack said, monotone. "I'm going to throw his body into a fire and scatter the ashes all over Nevada, then see if he can come back from _that_."


	11. Timelord

Starscream fell onto his rear at June's scream, processors in a frenzy as he tried to kick away from the water's edge.

He bumped into Wheeljack, and the mech hauled him too his feet. Wheeljack's own limbs were trembling, and they could barely push Starscream upright.

Starscream had a processors full of memories, horrible memories, foul memories of crimes he'd committed and terrifying events he'd witnessed – sometime he had been the catalyst – as well as a list of all the creatures from other galaxies he'd met, studies, and slaughtered. Most had put up a fight. Most had failed.

None had truly been daunting. Just weak or, in most cases, stupid.

This creature…this…this foul _beast_, this monstrosity to the highest degree, was not daunting in the sense that it made Starscream perk up, crouch low and ready his weapons. It was daunting in the sense that it petrified Starscream, caused his limbs to freeze and his tanks to jolt painfully inside his frame. His wings immediately fell flat against his back.

He tried to open his mouth and failed.

The monster was of Cybertronian size. It had Megatron's build and height. But it was not Megatron, nor anything similar.

It's body was that of a human, armor stretched across the chest. Though, no matter how hard Starscream listened, he could not depict the soft thrum of a spark or the thundering rhythm of an organic heart. It was only silence.

The creature's head resembled a lizard, yellow eyed, pink tongue visible through its parted lips. It's hands represented the same creature, along with its long legs, though they seemed more human than anything else – scaled, albeit, but with toes and black nails.

It tilted its head to the side, quick, exactly like a reptile. Slitted yellow eyes zeroed in on dirty, bouncing male human, then the raven haired woman and the child she held protectively in her arms, mouth agape.

Then it raked its gaze over Starscream and Wheeljack, baring dripping, gleaming fangs. A low whistle sounded from the back of its throat, loud enough that it tempted Wheeljack to reach for his sword.

"Don't–" Starscream began, extending an arm towards Wheeljack.

In that exact moment, before the words had even flowed from inside Starscream, the water behind the creature erupted, as if someone had set off a charge, once, twice, in three different places. Someone shouted. Two huge, dark blurs streaked past Starscream, knocking Wheeljack to the ground with the force of a wrecking ball.

It took Starscream's befuddled processors to recognize the dog-like shapes of the creatures, see their massive jaws clamped around Wheeljack's arms, tails wagging in the air, fast as a whip. Choking back a cry, he turned towards the third creature, which was trotting lightly to stand beside the lizard-like beast.

It was a horse. Armored, big enough to give Optimus Prime a run for his energon; take him down, maybe. Fear clutched at Starscream's spark. The charger didn't look as if it even needed a rider to kill someone – boiled madness flickered in its black eyes, one hoof smashing into the bank, sending up a spray of mud. Then it ducked it's head and puffed, a string of smoke lazily curling from its flaring nostrils.

"Master!" the human male was trudging slowly across the grass, towards the creature. Starscream narrowed his optics – it was him, he realized. The man Eva had told him about, the human that had given M.E.C.H a run for their money. Howard was his name, if Starscream thought correctly. One glance and Starscream could tell that he was insane.

"I thought I'd never find you!" Howard practically collapsed at the lizard's feet, gripping its blackened toes. He kissed them lightly, giggling like a madman.

The lizard flicked its foot and Howard was a shrieking, flailing object that sailed several meters, smashing into the grass with enough force to make _Starscream_ wince.

All the while, Wheeljack was struggling under the iron grip of the dogs, kicking, clawing, gasping as the sharp fangs bit through his armor.

The woman and the child were slowly making their way towards Starscream's feet, bypassing Howard, who lay moaning on his back.

The creature approached, taking slow, almost tentative steps towards the group. Almost as if it were afraid of frightening _them_, instead of vice versa.

It's lizard mouth opened.

"Where is Optimus Prime?"

It's voice didn't do its body any sort of justice. It was honey. Candies and flowers, rainbows, bells. Although it was unmistakably male, Starscream couldn't help but feel _drawn_ to the creature, as if he wanted to step out and touch the gleaming armor stretched across its chest.

The creature said once more, "I asked a question, I expect an answer," he raised his hand and, almost immediately, as spiked mace materialized. It fell from the air and the beast caught it, swinging it, smashing it into the ground with a dull _boom _and missing Howard's writhing body by inches.

"You are in no position to make requests," Starscream said, surprised that the words were springing, heedless, from his mouth.

"What if I kill every single one of you?" the creature tilted his head to the side and made a gesture with his mace. Wheeljack shouted, suddenly, the dogs dragging his body into the center of the clearing, next to the lizard. "Starting with him. Then will I 'be in a position,' to make requests?"

Starscream ducked his head and stepped back.

"What do you want from us?" the human woman shouted. She clutched the boy, who had begun to weep, tighter, and glared up at the lizard with bravery Starscream had never seen displayed across a human countenance.

The lizard observed the human female and the child with the casual disregard usually reserved for cattle or pigs as they wallowed in their own filth. Lips curled back over wicked fangs, but the creature still answered, honey-tinted voice dripping with false sincerity. "I am a time traveler, insect. I have seen the past, have wandered the present, and have witnessed the future. I have been – _no, I am_ – the catalyst of human history. I have taken_ many_ different forms and have been worshiped as a god by the ancient humans."

He paused, and the fingered his mace before saying, "I am, from your perspective, a god. Isn't that right, Howard?" he nudged the human with his toe, and the male groaned.

"But why are you here?"

"To punish you."

The woman ducked her head. "What did we do wrong?"

"Everything. You will, in the future, have done everything wrong. I came here to fix it."

"How?"

"By destroying you now and ensuring that both the Decepticon and Autobot factions are destroyed and Earth stars to believe once more in my authority; the impeccable, inevitable, indescribable power of Chronos, the Timelord, Father Time."

The woman let out a shaky breath, stepping back, this time so far that she bumped against Starscream's foot.

"This is not your fight," Wheeljack shouted. He was still pinioned, helpless beneath the dogs. Chronos glanced down at him, and then whistled lowly. The two dogs tore away, trotting to stand next to the shuffling charger. The horse was beating its hooves against the grass in impatience, whinnying softly. It's master ignored it.

"As I said before, I have pushed the human race forward. Without me, wars would not have been started, countries would not have been born. Peace would not have prevailed if not for the shortest time. But I have seen what comes. I have seen…_you_," Chronos kicked at Wheeljack's bleeding foot. The Autobot bit his lip plates, trying to stifle the pain. "You and your race have come, spreading the fear and the rage and the war…My world, my _beautiful _world, is so _fragile_…" Chronos growled, and then steeled himself. "I have seen the future. Your involvement _ruins _my world. I have come to set things straight and prevent the future from ever taking place."

Silence. The lake seemed still, surreal.

But not enough.

Chronos said, "Once again, I ask, take me to _Megatron._"

"No," Starscream hissed.

"Then the annihilation of the Cybertronian factions begins here," Chronos whistled and the two dogs snarled, saliva pouring from their open maws. He said, "Hellhounds. Death's dogs. I've travelled to many galaxies, collecting the rarest of the rare…these have inspired nightmares. Barghest," one dog, a monstrous black thing with a scarred muzzle, growled, "and Cerberus. I borrowed this one from a friend," the dog in question snarled, and Starscream was horrified to find that it had three heads instead of one. All snarling.

All trained on him.

"Kill."

Wheeljack transformed and Barghest sailed over his hood as it snapped into place, landing on his side, creating a deep groove in the ground as he slid. Then the woman and the child were ushered into his interior, the doors smashing shut even as his alt mode began to move.

"Fly, Starscream!" Wheeljack hollered. "Fly!"

Cerberus was on him, suddenly, and Starscream's world tilted crazily. He saw Howard crawling away. Wheeljack retreating into the trees. The gleaming black horse shrieked and bucked, and Barghest was leaping to his feet.

Starscream, pinned beneath Cerberus's weight, lodged a heel into the dog's stomach and heaved. All three heads snapping at open air, the hellhound yelped and flailed away.

Starscream rolled over, dodging a swipe from Barghest. He lunged to his feet but was tackled once more by Cerberus.

It's teeth sunk into Starscream's wing.

Pain. Agony. Starscream cried out, wrenching the appendage away. Cerberus was able to tear four deep incisors in the thin wing before Starscream landed a good swipe at him, one that tore into its central head, blood tainting its thick fur.

Starscream rolled and rolled and rolled until he reached the woods, long legs kicking, the hellhounds howling behind him.

Despite the pain in his wing and the old wound in his stomach, Starscream was able to run and use a nearby spruce as a launch pad, sending hi spiraling over Barghest, who'd taken a lucky snap, and Cerberus, who leaped several meters into the air after Starscream, transform, and then use his thrusters as a weapon to blast both hellhounds onto their backs.

It didn't kill them, but it would stun them for a while. The trail of smoke and energon trailing behind wouldn't help Starscream, but he had to get away…_had to…_

And then Starscream, bleeding and terrified and near spark-frozen from the events he'd just witnessed, soared into the clear night sky.

Just like he was meant to do.


	12. Accord

Howard's cheek pressed into the cold, wet grass, and his eyes were glued on the too-still form of Chronos.

He giggled. This was just like a party, he told himself. And the guest had left – Hah! His demented little brain couldn't understand why the guests had gone and left him here, lying on his stomach, both legs certainly broken because there was no way a simple fracture could cause a man so much pain.

His master didn't seem to care. His master was…better. So proud. So…wonderful. He was the Howard's link back home.

Howard smiled. Oh, when he returned to his own time, people would rejoice. His friends and parents would rejoice. He was the only futuristic human to have travelled back to the past, after all.

The past sucked.

Humans now, they were so, so stupid. Despite all Howard's studies as a young boy, all his research, all the time spent in the libraries observing files and holograms of his ancestors, he'd still been horrified to discover that his own era gave the past era so much more credit than they'd actually deserved. Releasing the mindeaters on humanity had been a wakeup call for him, would have been a wake-up call for _humanity_, had the Autobots and his "assigned" family had not interfered.

He'd never wanted to marry and have a child in this time period. He belonged elsewhere. Somewhere greater.

In the land of titans.

It was then that Howard began to weep. Heavy sobs that attracted the attention of Chronos. The huge creature padded over, armor crackling. His dark charger whined and kicked at the ground behind him.

Before he could reach Howard, the two huge hellhounds bounded through the trees, tongues tasting the air, tails wagging. Muscle rippled beneath thin layers of black fur, and their eyes, their horrible crimson eyes, spoke of evil.

Howard marveled them. They were monstrous, but incredible. Deadly, yet seductive. Everything about the Chronos's small fleet was a sight to ogle.

"Did they escape?"

The hellhounds barked.

Chronos licked what little lips he had with a long, purple tongue dripping with saliva. His lizard eyes darted towards the forest. He gestured with one clawlike hand, saying, "The Autobot and the two humans are speeding through the forest. I can hear them, the noisy little things. Give chase and bring me the remains."

The two hellhounds leaped back through the trees, fast as lighting, leaving scorching hot footprints in their wake.

Chronos, the Timelord, turned his attention to Howard. He reached down and gingerly gathered the human into his hands, and then began to trot over to his waiting charger. Holding Howard close to his face, he said, "My, my. You are such a _loyal _servant, Howard Scott Darby."

"I wanna' go home."

"Of course you do. But here's the catch, Howard," the creature lowered his voice, a trail of saliva dripping down and splashing against Howard's knee. It burned, like acid, eating through the fabric of his pants and past his skin, all the way down to the bone.

Howard screamed.

"In two weeks, your world, the year 2300, will cease to exist."

* * *

The wind whipped at Jack's clothes, pressing them against his chest. The speedometer before him was inching over ninety, though it felt faster. The pressure was so great that he felt his ears pop, and his breathing became shallow behind the helmet he wore.

That wasn't going to stop him.

In the distance, a howl.

"Probably a stray dog or a coyote," he murmured, feeling the sweat as it beaded across his brow.

Arcee cut a corner, skidding past trees and ferns. She pulled out into another trail, the movement to jerky that it nearly sent Jack flying off the side for a second time.

No sooner had she executed the maneuver did the trees to their left explode in a flash of blinding light. An engine roared. Tires kicked up a spray of dirt that hit Jack in the face, obscuring his view.

His world tilted crazily as Arcee wrenched her alt form into a skid. Furiously, Jack wiped away the dirt with the back of his hand, and then flinched when he found himself staring into two glaring headlights.

"Friend or foe?" he shouted.

"Friend…" Arcee answered mildly. She wobbled and Jack slid off, allowing her to transform.

The lights on the car before them snapped off, and the doors to the vehicle popped open. Two figures stumbled out, and then the vehicle itself shifted, joints rearranging, the effort flawless.

"Wheeljack?"

"Long time no see, two-wheels," the rogue acknowledged Arcee with a nod of the head, optics darting to the side as Jack rushed past him.

In the glow of the moon, Jack could see a portion of his mother's injuries. Clad in only a hospital gown, her hair was disheveled, red rings around her eyes. She walked with an unnatural limp, back hunched like an old woman. She was trembling so badly that she was using Rafael, who was also shaking, though not as badly, as support.

"Mom!" Jack rushed forward, wrapping his arms around her.

She leaped back, as if she'd been stung. Then, shaking her head, she blinked rapidly, as if recognizing Jack for the first time.

"Jack…"

She returned the embrace, and then began to cry. She stopped herself before the first tear could roll down her cheek, wiping away at the dirt and what looked like dried blood plastered to her skin.

"You don't look so good, mom."

"I've seen better days," she sighed. "I…I need to go home, alright? Jack, it's getting late and…wait…what…what are you doing here?" she looked past Jack. "Arcee, what is he doing here? Why are…"

She trailed off, suddenly growing tired. She leaned against Raf for support, wobbling on unsteady feet.

"Mom, we really should go. You look sick."

"I…I am sick. No, no, _he's_ sick," she glanced back towards the wood. "They all are…"

"All? Who else was with you?" Arcee stepped forward.

"A Decepticon. Howard. Wheeljack," she pressed her lips into the line, thinking. "And this…this creature. This…"

"Was it Cybertronian?"

"No. No, no. No, no, no, no, _no_," June squeezed her eyes shut. "He's–"

Jack didn't see the creature before everyone else did. He was so wrapped up inside his mother's story that he didn't see the two ton wolf erupt from the trees, knocking over Arcee with the force of a wrecking ball.

Rafael cried out. Jack wrapped his arms around his mother. The wolf's momentum carried Arcee into the forest, and several moments later, an ominous howl of a wolf emitted from somewhere to their left.

Another dog was bounding onto the trail.

Wheeljack's hands flew to the hilt of his swords and he said, "Here doggy."

It took Jack a moment to realize that the dog had three heads, each snarling and snapping at empty air. Saliva dripped from bared fangs. The dog looked remotely organic, stark black, six crimson eyes casually staring down its prey.

It lunged.

Wheeljack took the partial hit. Teeth sunk into his shoulder, but he was able to wrench the dog off. The ground shook as the Cybertronian stumbled, regaining his footing before sweeping his swords in a long arc, fending off the dog.

The creature ducked its head and the forest echoed with three consecutive snarls.

"C'mon," Jack cried, grabbing his mother, who was frozen in shock.

"What about Arcee?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but his words flowed out as a cry when Arcee, armor hanging limp from her shoulder, crashed through a thin spruce and landed on the path.

"Arcee!"

She wriggled through the wet grass, shouting into her comm. "_Ratchet, we need a groundbridge, now…the coordinates are…_"

As she spoke, Jack whipped around and saw Wheeljack slice at the three-headed dog. The blade ruffled the creature's fur, sending it leaping back, and then crouching. Poised. Ready to spring, and Jack and the others…

They were helpless, stuck in the middle of it.

"Get that groundbridge up, fast!" Wheeljack bellowed.

Jack's mother, tired and limping, led the two children towards the edge of the small trench that was the path, where they pressed their backs against the clotted dirt.

A small yelp, and the second dog came lopping from the trees, trotting leisurely, almost. Its fangs dripped. Its tail was like a whip, clearing away small branches, overturning logs.

Jack's blood ran cold.

The beast had looked at him.

He tried to move his head but found it paralyzed with fear. His fingers curled into semi-deadly fists, instinct telling him to run, fight, run or fight. Neither would be successful. Neither would be smart; he ducked when he saw Arcee crawling, reaching out…

Wheeljack had his own hound in a vice grip, wrestling with the creature, swords abandoned. Their yips and snarls and shouts mingled in with the sudden flare of a groundbridge as it sprung up several meters away from the battle.

"Go!" Arcee shouted. When she saw Wheeljack hesitate, she growled, "You too! We'll go back for your ship – just not now! Do your duty and get those humans to safety!"

The three humans ran. Dove under the swing of the hound as it turned its massive head, and then glanced back at its bunched up its muscles, ready to attack…

It leaped.

A tawny blur flew and smashed into it. The projectile had been the other dog, flung by Wheeljack. They landed close and a fur covered tail slapped in front of Jack; he leaped over it, landed on one knee, and was up and running towards the swirling, crackling portal of light he knew so well.

Several seconds later, the forest around him faded, and he, Raf, and his mother were deposited onto the warm floors of the Autobot base. Arcee and Wheeljack followed, and the ground bridge deactivated.

The silo was filled with silence.

Ratchet stood by the monitor, hands on the lever, staring at the five of them with a healthy look of perplexity.

"Does anyone want to explain to me," he said slowly, voice rising with each word, "What exactly is going on here?"

* * *

Starscream transformed several yards from the ground, forcing himself into a painful skid that jarred his knees and caused his healing side to groan in protest.

He coughed. Wings bent, one gushing energon, he regained his footing and began to hobble. The snow was lighter here, a faint, icy sheet across the ground. It wasn't as terrible as last. Certainly not.

He'd circled around, observing the hellhounds as they'd fought the Autobots. Wheeljack had disappeared into the groundbridge. Starscream wondered if he'd be able to search, and find the Jackhammer, and then be able to operate it…his wings hurt, and the idea was doubtful.

But it was an idea, nonetheless.

He'd left a fine trail of energon behind. The hellhounds – Cerberus and Barghest – would find it. They were most likely still recovering from the battle, but even then, they'd still be ready.

He wasn't in the mood for a fight. His wing was punctured, so he was grounded once more. If he'd been Optimus Prime, he'd maybe have stood a chance. But he wasn't.

He was just…Starscream. Starscream the rogue. Alone. Empty. Lover dead and gone, although something was cooking inside his processors…a plan.

And it involved wit.

His specialty.

Starscream, with his processors and spark in shambles, gave a hearty giggle, bouncing on his heels. Sinking to his knees, he tilted his head back and allowed his tears to fall and his giggle to transform into a laugh that echoed for miles.

It took Chronos ten minutes to burst through the trees on his demented, black horse. Smoke curled from the beasts nostrils, and it allowed its master to climb off before it neighed and stepped back, tail swishing back and forth.

Starscream took note of the human that lay, almost like a piece of candy in a stocking, in one of the side pockets of the saddle. His head was drooped, hair stringy and covering his face, but Starscream had no doubt that it was Howard Darby.

He grimaced and wrapped long arms around his narrow torso. "You've found me," he said bluntly.

Chronos stepped forward, feet dragging.

"I've found you," he replied bitterly. "And yet you are not fighting."

"Why, that's simply because I have nothing to fight for."

Chronos paused. Then, "You are a Decepticon, are you not?"

"A rogue."

"You have the insignia planted onto your chest, therefore I shall identify you as one of them," Chronos's tongue shot out, running across a scaled jaw. "The way you sit – hunched in depression, head ducked in shame, arms crossed in embarrassment…you wish to make a request?"

Starscream lifted his helm, crimson eyes sparkling. Oh, he had Chronos. He had the Timelord, he had Father Time. He'd wrap the arrogant beast around his servo. Get him to do one thing…one thing.

"You say you're a master of time?"

"Yes."

If Primus wasn't going to give him happiness, then by the Pit, Chronos would.

"I'll take you to Megatron if you'll travel into the past and bring someone back. Do we have an agreement?"


	13. Takeover

"Yes, Miko, Optimus said to stay inside…no, no, I mean yes…keep your parents there too…we don't think you're in any danger….I'm not sure…_yes_ I know what happened to Raf, but this is worse, Miko, so much worse. Not something we want you fully involved in…I have to go, Miko…"

Jack hung up, slipping the phone back into his pocket. He was casually leaning against the wall of one of the many tunnels that led deeper into the base, watching from afar as Fowler, who'd arrived several minutes ago, patched up his mother's feet with Ratchet's help.

She was shivering, already running a fever, hospital gown having been stripped off and replaced with warm scrubs Fowler had brought from the outside. Jack hadn't watched them wipe away the sweat and blood and dirt – he hadn't wanted to. One look was enough.

Something was dying in his mother's eyes. She was so traumatized that she'd been unable to speak, only issuing a few nods or shakes of the head while barely sipping at a bottle of water. The dark rings under her eyes would probably never disappear, as would the tremble in her fingers. Fowler was trying his best to coo words of comfort, but they died upon execution when she turned her head away, unwilling to listen.

"I can get you more water if you like," Fowler was saying, regarding Jack in a single glance as the young boy climbed the steps, making his way towards the couch. Optimus stood, practically pressing himself against the railing. His presence seemed to be like some sort of remedy; something about his warm blue eyes made it difficult for even the shyest person to feel reserved. Down below, Raf was sitting, talking quietly to Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Jack could see Wheeljack, a distant shadow, having moved to sit at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Nurse Darby," Ratchet said, trudging over from the monitor. "Can you tell us exactly what you saw?"

June Darby stared at Ratchet, as if she'd seen something that wasn't quite there. Her voice came out a hoarse croak, barely audible.

"I-It was a m-monster. A-a monster…I don't know," she squeezed the water bottle, the plastic crumpling beneath the firm grip. "He c-called h-himself…the Timelord. Father Time. _Chronos_," she spat the last word, pulling her bandaged feet against her body.

"Chronos?"

"He wants to k-kill us a-all."

"All of us?" Ratchet said, incredulous. "Both factions?"

June Darby ducked her head, but her nod had been seen by all.

Jack turned at the sound of heavy footsteps. Wheeljack was walking, limping, it seemed, towards them, arms crossed over his metal chest. His lip plates pressed into a thin line as he said, "I don't mean to interrupt, but I can take it from here. The poor human has gone through enough," he casted a pitying gaze in June's direction, shaking his head. "Plus, you guys _might _just want to hear what I have to say. It does involve Starscream, after all."

Arcee made a noise of disgust in the back of her throat.

"Oh, c'mon, he's not that bad," Wheeljack said. "Well, actually, he's bad, but not in the way you'd think. His processors are _way _off their hinges."

"As if they weren't before?" Ratchet snapped.

"You'd be surprised. The mech's in deep."

"He killed Cliffjumper," Arcee growled.

"Oh, did he? Well, no diss on your fallen comrade, but Screamer lost someone, too. So I guess that levels the playing field," Wheeljack replied curtly. "And he beat himself up about it. Gored himself trying to insert a T-Cog, said that it was 'because he had no choice' but in reality, he was trying to kill himself."

At the various puzzled looks, Wheeljack nodded slowly and said, "Yeah, he's _that_ bad. Anyway, that's a story for another day. This Timelord guy, this…_Chronos_, he's not of Cybertron. He's not even of Cybertronian origin–"

"What does he look like?" Ratchet interrupted.

"Bout' the size of ole' Prime, here," Wheeljack jerked a thumb at Optimus. "Organic, from the looks of it. He looks like one of those…lizards. Yeah. Body of a human, legs and arms and head like a lizard. He had armor. And dogs."

"Hellhounds," June suddenly breathed, straightening up a bit. "Barghest and Cerberus. Both based off legend. I think…" she wrinkled her nose, "Cerberus is Greek, he guarded the Underworld. Barghest is… is this ghost dog said to have lived in north England…"

"That's all _very _interesting," Ratchet groaned. "But these are certainly not the real things. He said he travelled the galaxy, did he not–"

"He did," Wheeljack confirmed. "Said that they inspired nightmares."

"So he's been to Earth before now?"

"Yeah," June responded. "H-he's said that he shaped our history…"

"He _is _the Timelord," Wheeljack murmured. He paused, and then raised his voice. "And he thinks that by bringing our war here, we're going to ruin the planet he worked so vigorously to shape. He's seen it happen. Or, seen what will happen. He wants to destroy both factions and claim the Earth as his own."

"But he can't do it by himself," Arcee added. "I mean, think about it? All of us together could probably finish him off…"

"Or the Decepticon's," Jack said.

"The very mech's he's going to find. Who outnumber us by a landslide."

All eyes turned to Optimus. He'd been standing stoic, listening with keen audio receptors. His optics narrowed and he said to Ratchet, "This…doesn't add up."

"Of course it doesn't," Ratchet sighed. "We're forgetting one thing," he practically glared at Jack, as if it were somehow his fault. "Your father, who made his appearance. Your father, the genius brain behind the notorious mindeaters."

"You think Chronos is going to try and enslave the entire Decepticon faction, set them on us, and then start taking over the entire world with his army of processors-blown, obedient Decepticons?"

"I don't just think," Ratchet replied glumly, "I'm _certain_."

* * *

Chronos erupted into the desert just as the first rays of pink were touching the horizon, signaling a sunrise that couldn't have come any sooner.

Starscream's legs ceased their kicking. He was lying slung over the Timelord's gleaming charger, wings bent awkwardly, his face in close proximity to an unconscious Howard Darby. The man had been spitting and raving in his comatose state the entire time, but Starscream didn't dare wake him. The longer Howard slept, the better.

Starscream lifted his head, noticing the snow brushed, glittering snow that caked the rocks before him. Chronos clicked his tongue and the horse unceremoniously reared and dumped Starscream onto the cold ground, when he ground, rubbing sore wings.

"You know…being gentle isn't a crime," he said between clenched teeth. He stood, having to crane his neck to look at Chronos as he gripped the reigns.

"It is not in my nature."

In the distance, Starscream heard a low howl. Chronos responded, though what emitted from his throat sounded more like a low buzz, like a chainsaw.

"Barghest and Cerberus should be joining us soon," Chronos glanced down. "You are dismissed. Bring Megatron to me."

"You're just…letting me go?"

"I lack flight," Chronos replied bluntly. "You do not. And I can see it in your optics, Starscream. You want to hold up your end of the bargain, although I wonder…what's the sense?"

Starscream glared.

"This girl you've pledged you love to…I will bring her back. But soon, you will be dead and she will be a slave."

Starscream shook his head, leaped into the air, transformed and blasted away.

* * *

Locating the warship was simple, and Megatron came peacefully.

It was weird, flying with him and the other three Vehicon's. The flanked him as if it were an escort. Megatron flew, the tip of his wing barely brushing Starscream's.

Each motion sent waves of rage rolling through Starscream.

Here he was. The mech responsible for his loves demise, cruising at wing-length. Starscream didn't even dare open his comm to the Decepticon leader, didn't plan to until Chronos did what he wanted.

Convincing the blundering mech had been simple. Starscream was running and errand for an even more powerful source – he'd been telling the truth, remarkably – and wanted to meet the esteemed leader of the Decepticon army. Megatron's caution was palpable, but as he said, he was "bored" and "looking for something to pass the time."

Starscream was a worthy distraction.

All in all, beneath the hot veil of rage that made Starscream want to blast Megatron out of the sky, he was trying to hide his smirk. Whatever the so-called traveler of time, Chronos, had in store for Megatron, it wouldn't be pretty.

_Oh, Megatron, you blinkered, arrogant fool._

They transformed several meters in the air, joints bending as they absorbed the impact. A cloud of dust billowed before them, and Starscream hurried to wipe it away.

"This better not be a waste of my time, Starscream. If it is, I'll offline you on the…"

Megatron had trailed off.

He'd seen him.

The Decepticon's head tilted, almost stupidly, to the side. His cannon whirled defensively, and his shoulder attained a bunched stance, legs coiled, ready to transform or run or fight or do whatever he had to do.

Starscream exploded into a fit of laughter, stumbling forward, standing next to Chronos, who was regarding the Vehicon's and Megatron wild mild distaste.

"_This_ is your leader?"

Megatron recoiled.

"This is the mighty _Megatron_? Why, he's only a youngster!" Chronos joined in on Starscream's laughter, and the sound was horrific – like a dozen cackling hyenas, but still managing to retain that honeyed, almost babyish quality. "Come forward, child."

Megatron did not move.

"I seem to have struck him deaf," Chronos, still atop his horse, reached back and patted Howard with a clawed hand. The human jolted awake, noticed Megatron, and immediately spoke.

"Oi! Ole' Megsy's come to play! It's nice to know you aren't worse for wear. Oh, see, I still have some of those mindeaters…" he rummaged through his torn, bloodstained coat and pulled out a few round objects that glowed red. He extended a palm and Chronos plucked them from his fingers.

"What _are _you?" Megatron said slowly.

"What am I? I'm the past, present, and future."

Chronos shouted and the horse leaped forward, driving towards Megatron. One Vehicon began to transform, the other leaping to the side. Only Megatron stood his ground, summoning forth his wickedly sharp sword.

Chronos raised his free hand and the mace materialized, sparkling clean. He and Megatron both swung, simultaneous.

Both weapons met, and an earsplitting explosion, like rolling thunder, as well as a sudden shockwave that knocked Starscream onto his back.

Then it was over.

Megatron lay on his back, sword broken in two pieces. Panting, optics alive and well, glaring daggers at Chronos.

The two Vehicon's scrambled towards Chronos, the other attacking from the air. Chronos brained one Vehicon in one blow, twisted his torso at an impossible angle to knock the head off the second. The last Vehicon zoomed in from the sky, spraying hot pellets in a straight line towards Chronos.

The horse reared and clopped to the side, dodging the blow and causing Starscream to have to roll to avoid being trampled. Dust bit at his intakes, clogged them, rendering his coughing.

Chronos, invisible with speed, cleanly knocked the wing off the Vehicon before it could even arc back into the air. It tumbled head over heels, like a throwing knife, before smashing into the ground.

A burst of fire followed, along with a crack and a howl.

Chronos slid off his charger and walked with heavy steps to where Megatron was slowly sitting up, groaning. The Decepticon warlord held up the blunt end of his broken sword, spitting curses.

Then, in a single, flawless motion, Starscream was able to watch Chronos fling the mindeaters atop Megatron.

The huge mech roared, and then began to twitch as the little bug-like creatures crawled under his armor, latching on like leeches. His optics dimmed, and then were still.

Chronos turned to Starscream.

"Megatron is no longer in control," he said, monotone. "I lead the Decepticon's now, with you as my second. Unless you prove yourself useful, I will terminate you."

"That's what Megatron always said," Starscream murmured.

"I am not Megatron. I am infinitely more powerful."

"Ah. And my…_reward_?" Starscream said quietly, slowly, a devilish grin spreading across his faceplates. "I have served you well, _Lord Chronos_."

The lizard beast tried to grin, but the action was so appalling and horrific that Starscream had to dip his head to avoid looking.

"Yes, you have. Patience, Starscream, patience. Your reward is coming."

Starscream chuckled and wrapped his arms around his torso. He was getting his Eva Bishop _back_.

Several yards away, Megatron's optics snapped open and stared a glassy, milk-colored stare.


	14. Submit

With Megatron as his puppet, Chronos was able to accomplish Starscream's lifetime goal in five minutes flat.

Megatron, stumbling around like a lumbering idiot, was forced to signal a groundbridge. He stepped through first, then Starscream, and then Chronos, who led his charger by the reins, Barghest and Cerberus trotting lightly at his heels.

The takeover was quick. Two Vehicon's died in the conflict. Soundwave, the only mech to get a competent hit on Chronos, was sent to the medical bay, minus one leg.

And now, the ship was silent.

Insecticon's prowled about, wings folded, heads ducked. The rivalry they shared with the Vehicon's had all but diminished, and now the hate was directed in Chronos's direction.

But retaliating was futile, and as Starscream paced his old, dusty quarters, he suddenly felt the urge to punch someone – or something – or, maybe, reopen the wound on his side, even if it was now a puckered scar that ran from his hip to the blazing Decepticon insignia on his chest. He'd half to visit Knockout, he thought with a frown. Maybe get it buffed just a bit…the medic, repulsively, had a knack for that sort of thing.

Knockout. Soundwave, bedridden. He'd seen Megatron's "new" second somewhere – Dreadwing, he presumed. Those were all. All the officers. All with the power to fight back.

Three, no, _four_ against the world, a factor that would violently set in when Howard finished with his new batch of "mindeaters," and helped bind every Decepticon on the ship to Chronos's will.

For now, Starscream was trapped pacing. All alone in his old quarters, sitting on the creaky berth and watching the door. The area around him felt foreign. He'd been a rogue for so long…he'd forgotten his old habits, and his obsession with overthrowing Megatron had been wiped clean from the moment Chronos had struck the big mech down. And now he was utterly alone, waiting for the new leader of the Decepticon's to bring back the one thing he truly cared about.

He needed her.

He _needed _to hear her voice. He _needed _her to say something snarky or funny or just plain wrong, but make him smile, nonetheless. He _needed_ to touch her, love her like he should have done before. He needed to inhale her scent…he needed his dream to come true, and he would be sure it happened, no matter the cost.

And it was for purely selfish reasons. His world was falling apart around him, and he needed someone to end his own thoughts of ending himself.

Starscream covered his face with his hands and wept.

* * *

Knockout brought him the cube of energon that night. Starscream had been in a steady recharge, storing up as much energy as possible. A slight knock jolted him from the void, and his limbs reacted on instinct, pulling his body from the berth.

He sauntered over to the door, wings flat against his back in a permanent droop. Knockout's grim face was a welcome sight – it was familiar instead of expressionless and covered, like all the Vehicon's on the ship.

Knockout held out the cube and muttered, "He told me to bring you this."

Starscream stared long and hard. Then, voice a low growl, "What did he put in it?"

"Nothing. I would know. I checked."

Starscream snatched the cube and drank a long, hearty gulp. He breathed, "Well, I'm glad you've suddenly decided to look after my health."

"I'm a medic, Starscream, what am I supposed to do? My present patient won't even _touch _a cube. Of course, he won't tell me why…"

"What about your _other _patient?" Starscream said, glancing down at the swirling blue liquid to hide his smirk.

"_Him_?" Knockout recoiled, disgusted. "Oh, the injustice!" Knockout braced his hands on the edge of the door, lowering his voice. "It frightens me how he uses y equipment. He has a Vehicon acting as an extra set of hands, yet the annoying fleshling still manages wriggle his way past my audio receptors."

"So he's a talker?" Starscream said dryly.

"He constantly complains about his broken legs and his injured eye – the same eye Megatron, I might add, ripped out as his punishment when he joined – and he _sings_," Knockout clenched his fist. "He sings like a dying whale, Starscream. Save me. Save me from the abomination that is Howard Darby."

"I won't be visiting you anytime soon, Knockout. I rest my case. No, you rested my case for me," Starscream raised the cube of energon in a mock toast. "A quick question: how are those devices coming along?"

"The mindeaters?" Knockout snorted. "The poor fool has a ways to go. Producing them takes time, but it's only a matter of time before the Vehicon's pick up the technique and begin constructing themselves," he barked a laugh. "Just to think, they're building their own demise."

Starscream nodded, and then watched as Knockout stepped away from the door. "We're going to figure something out," the medic said. "My paintjob is too precious to be soiled doing someone else's dirty work."

"You did the same for Megatron."

"We all did," Knockout replied somberly. "But we did it on our own accord. And you, Starscream, are a fine example of what rebellion is about."

"You're already talking about overthrowing Chronos?"

"No, _you're_ talking about overthrowing Chronos. I'm talking about escape," Knockout spread his arms, grinning like a maniac. "Because when Chronos takes a look at the history this ship possesses, and all the reports filed that concern a certain Seeker…by default, his mech of interest will be _you_."

* * *

"Have you…contemplated the validity of my reward, _sire_," Starscream bowed his head and tried his best to keep the sneer from his tone. He stood before Chronos, just the creatures shadow dwarfing him with ease. Despite him sharing the same build and height as Megatron – who stood off to the side – Chronos was much, much more terrifying. Constant beatings from seeing him every day for practically a century had made Starscream almost immune to the fear Megatron struck in his opponents, new ones, especially.

But there was something…_wrong_ with Chronos. The combination of man and lizard was too horrific for Starscream to even fathom, yet here it was, standing before him. Not small, but big and armored and no doubt gifted with an uncanny ability to kill and travel through time.

How long had he been on Earth, asleep beneath a lake, Starscream did not know. But he'd been waiting, plotting some sort of revenge.

Chronos lacked Megatron's infrequent false jocularity, instead replacing it with a piercing demeanor. Although his voice was smothered in a honeyed impishness, his actions were random, violent, without warning. Starscream had gotten the opportunity to watch as Chronos, suddenly angered by an unseen force, brained a nearby Vehicon with his materialized spiked mace.

The walls were splattered with the Vehicon's energon, the body slumped in a corner. Nobody had the will to move it.

So Starscream was very, very careful with his words. "It's such an _insignificant_ task…really. One that would only rob a few moments of your time…"

"I know," Chronos replied, wiping blue liquid from the spikes on his mace. "But it means so much more to you, doesn't it?"

Starscream gulped.

"_Yes_," Chronos's lipless mouth curved upward into a grin. "I had the pleasure of travelling back while you were in recharge. You used to be human, did you not?"

Starscream's mouth opened, a small whimper scratching its way from the back of his throat.

"That Eva Bishop…a firebrand if there ever was one. Watching her age was_ so_ much fun…if I bring her back, ask her about me. Surely she remembers _something_."

"You've gone back in time…"

"And haven't changed a thing. I'm waiting, Starscream. Your loyalty is setting in…I know of your origins, I know your idiotic tendencies to try and commit the highest of crimes: treason. Mutiny. All of which, in a twist of predestined fate, have all gone wrong. So I am not worried."

"About you or about me?"

"About me. _You_ should be worried about you. I can smash this mace through your head faster than your processors would have time to respond, just as I can travel back and save the life of Eva Bishop. The latter seems more appropriate, and the former…just seems amusing."

"I pick the latter."

Chronos chuckled in his honeyed, chiming voice. "You make me laugh, Seeker. Which is rare. I do not usually laugh," he tapped the end of his mace against the Nemesis's floor, "And I've now found that it can be pleasant. Thank you."

Starscream didn't know how to reply, so he knelt there, gaping like a fish. And then he realized that was exactly what Chronos wanted him to do.

He straightened up and said softly, "It's my pleasure, sire."

"Good," Chronos waved a hand. "Now, run along, Seeker. I have work I must attend to."

Starscream opened his mouth to reply, but Chronos wasn't finished.

"And _yes_, it involves you. Congratulations, Starscream. You've earned your lover back."


	15. Return

**_I apologize for the shortness of the past two chapters. We're just starting to had towards some action. I have a few twists for the future...hopefully they'll come out _**

**_planned. And, of course, not everyone in this story is getting out unscathed. Or alive._**

**Anyway, enjoy! Review, and for those who do, I thank you. You're my inspiration :)**

* * *

"Your mother has a fever," Ratchet's finger gently touched June's shoulder. The woman was curled up on the couch, swathed in blankets, shivering despite the fact that she was clad in nice, new, warm clothes. Her face had gone deathly pale, and she'd retched up anything Fowler had attempted to feed to her.

Her eyes darted, unfocused. She'd fall asleep and wake up screaming. She'd murmur incomprehensible words.

She was a wreck, and because of that, Jack had been reduced to tears.

He'd wiped them away quickly, and then turn, shielding himself from his mother's crazed gaze. Arcee took note, but Jack would glare before she could say anything comforting, anything at all that could dissuade his initial opinion of his mother; gone was the strong, independent, _sane _woman he'd grown up with.

He was staring at a shell. A thin, pale, wounded, feverish shell struck with trauma. Jack wondered if she would go crazy, like his dad. Then he'd have _two_ lunatic parents.

"So," Wheeljack said suddenly, "How are we going to stop him?"

No one replied. Rafael glanced up from where he sat, eyes tired, defeated.

"Hello?" Wheeljack waved a hand. "Prime?"

"There is nothing we can do, Wheeljack, but wait him out," Optimus lifted his massive head. "If possible, I could arrange some sort of meeting. Maybe…discourage him."

"He hates you just as much as Megatron. What we _need _to be doing is forming some sort of battle plan." Wheeljack replied bluntly.

"We are facing a _god_, Wheeljack," Optimus said, surprisingly curt with the response. "While I have never been one to give up so easily, the lives of my comrades come _firs_t. If there is any angle, any way in which we can negotiate with this Chronos, I will seize that opportunity."

"It has to be soon," Jack murmured. "Before he jumps the Decepticon, if he hasn't already," he raised his voice. "My dad can only make so many mindeaters. And it'll take him a while to cook up the first batch."

"You forget that he has Cybertronian resources to work with, now," Arcee added, "Instead of the usual M.E.C.H equipment."

"But that doesn't mean –"

"Starscream is on that ship," Wheeljack interrupted. A grin spit his features, and he almost seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief, as if the news were somehow comforting. "He went with Chronos. I'm sure of it."

"And how is that _Decepticon _of any possible use to us?" Ratchet sneered. "I imagine he's already seated as Chronos's right-hand-mech. It won't take long for him to start plotting…"

"He won't do that. He'll try to escape Chronos's rule, not overthrow him."

A silence filled the silo, all Autobots staring at Wheeljack with equally surprised expressions.

"How can you be sure?" Arcee asked slowly.

Nonchalantly, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world, Wheeljack replied, "Because Chronos is _not_ Megatron."

* * *

Starscream mashed his thumb against the keypad, and the doors before him slid open with an audible hiss.

He poked his head around the corner, optics on a swivel as he surveyed the empty hall. No Vehicon's were visible, though Starscream could hear and feel their heavy footsteps, as well as those of the Insecticon's, echo throughout the ship. Gnawing on his lower lip plate, he inched his way out into the hall, audio receptors alert for any sign of danger.

He crept slowly towards the medical bay, bypassing Vehicon's with their backs turned.

He slipped through the open door, freezing at the sight. Knockout was welding Soundwave's foot back to his body, wincing as sparks flew in every direction. When the medic looked up, he stopped, clicking off the welder and glaring.

"You managed to get out," he said dryly. "I'm proud of you, Starscream."

"Where's Chronos?"

"Lizard-man? Oh, he's in his quarters with that fleshling. I don't know what they're up to…" Knockout shook his head, and Soundwave raised his, static flickering across his visor. He lay back down slowly, silently, as was tradition.

"Did he happen to pass by?"

"Yeah. He has someone new with him."

Starscream's tanks lurched, his spark thrumming wildly. He opened his mouth, but faltered.

"It was a girl," Knockout continued, tapping his chin. "And my oh my, Starscream, was she–"

Starscream was gone, bounding down the hallway. He ducked under an Insecticon, tripping and sprawling across the ground. He leaped to his feet and breezed past the guards.

Four Vehicon's stopped him. Blocked his path just as Chronos's – Megatron's, technically – quarters sprang into view. His arms flailed and his legs kicked and he would have fallen a second time, had it not been for one Vehicon throwing out an arm and clipping him in the chest.

He landed hard on his rear, hissing. The Vehicon's surrounded his writhing body, hands reaching to restrain him.

"_Release me_," Starscream snarled, struggling. Two had his arms while another had his wings in a vice grip, pulling them flat against his back. The last stood, stoic.

"W-we _can't_," the Vehicon stuttered. "Chronos said…that if we saw you, we needed to stop you and take you back…"

"I said _release _me!"

"Commander…I mean, _Starscream_," a hint of brittleness touched the Vehicon's tone, "You have _separated_ yourself from the Decepticon faction. You are in no position to make requests!"

Starscream shrieked and spat and kicked. His claws made purchase against a hard surface – the face of an unfortunate Vehicon – and splashed hot energon across his talons.

Something smashed into his stomach. A fist connected with his optics, obscuring it. Someone smote him in the back of the head. More feet made contact, more fist found their marking, and Starscream shrieked and shrieked and spat until a honeyed voice sliced through all the madness.

"_Enough_!"

The Vehicons peeled off. Starscream lay on his back, wings askew, gasping and twitching, talons clutching at empty air. His body throbbed, his torso ached and his vision was blurry.

Chronos stood over him, wiry arms crossed over a broad, armored chest. Starscream tilted his head and saw Cerberus and Barghest standing a few feet behind him. The hellhounds stared Starscream down, tongues lolling, drool pooling beneath them.

"Master," Starscream groaned. "Master, please…"

He hated the way he sounded. Weak. Puny.

Then the realization hit him: of course! This was Megatron all over again, tenfold. He'd been reverted back to his original state, just under a different ruler who was no less cruel that the one he'd mentally imprisoned.

Back arching, Starscream tried to stem the flow of pain that radiated down his dented, scratched legs.

"You left your quarters without being summoned."

"Forgive me, sire," Starscream gasped, clenching his optics shut. "Please…I heard news of _her_ arrival."

"Tsk, tsk. Why, you are in _such_ a hurry to see your beloved, Starscream."

Starscream could only nod. There was something off about Chronos's tone. It was too mocking. Too…_sure_. Like he knew something Starscream didn't.

"Let me see her, sire," Starscream whimpered.

"Are you _sure_?"

Groaning, the Seeker hauled himself to his feet. He spat, and energon flew, splattering against Chronos's intricate golden chest plate.

The Timelord didn't even flinch.

He smiled.

One clawed arm gripped Starscream, pulling him towards the entrance to Megatron's former quarters. Starscream could hear cackling from inside, high-pitched, ringing and familiar.

And he could _feel _it.

A heart. Beating.

_Her_ heart.

And then, cutting through the atmosphere like a knife, her terrified scream, followed by a familiar, high-pitched cackle.

Starscream tried to fight his way out of Chronos's grip, but the creature's claws were like iron, digging into his wings, upsetting the small puncture holes that were already there. Cerberus and Barghest followed behind, tails wagging, teeth grazing Starscream's ankle, ready to inflict damage if necessary.

Chronos punched the keypad, and the doors to his quarters slid open.

The revelation was almost too much for Starscream to handle. There was an odor, a horrific odor that cloaked the room like a blanket. Blood covered the floor in irregular streaks. In the center of the room, posture resembling that of a vulture, was Howard Darby.

He had his lips pressed against the throat of a bloody, screaming, thrashing Eva Bishop.


	16. Desperate

"Did he beat you?"

The less than subtle nod had Starscream baring his teeth and pacing around the room once more.

"Did he take advantage of you…?"

She shook her head.

"Eva, my sweet, _talk_ to me," Starscream's voice broke and he collapsed to his knees before the human, talons smashing against either side of her. Energon flowed from his optics, splashing and sizzling around Eva's hunched form.

The girl as barefoot, clad in a simple tan shirt that left her barely decent, and ripped jean shorts. Her bare legs were littered with cuts and bruises, as were her abnormally skinny arms. Her eyes were sunken, and her breathing was irregular. Every now and then she'd cough, and then her hands would fly to her torso, as if trying to stifle some internal agony. She refused to meet Starscream's eye.

His talons dug deep grooves into the floor, but Eva didn't seem to care, so Starscream let his optics slide across her features, relish them, drink them in. Her flaming red hair. Her full, pink lips and supple skin lightly dusted with freckles. How he wanted his own lip plates against that skin, _everywhere_.

Just like he'd dreamt.

He'd also dreamed of a reunion. A dramatic reunion, really, with music in the background, the two of them sprinting towards each other, and embracing despite the size difference. In his mind, Starscream would have kissed her and whispered, "I've missed you."

He still said the words. But he was motionless and sore and tired and the girl he longed to touch was covered in blood and sweat. There was no running. They just sat.

"I've missed you, Eva Bishop."

A ghost of a smile flickered across Eva's smooth, unlined face. Then she said, her words hoarse but still touched with hints of snark, "I was getting lonely in here, Stars. Say, did you bring any snacks? Energon doesn't suit me one bit."

* * *

Starscream lay with Eva draped across his chest, yet recharge still eluded him.

He could feel her, gently rubbing patters against his scratched armor, just above his softly thrumming spark. Every sensor in his body was on overdrive, soaking in the feeling of her flesh against his armor. He was warmer than usual, just to please her. He remembered his brief days as a human, recalling how bitter the cold had been - he hadn't like it at all.

"How did he rescue you?" Starscream murmured. "How did he rescue you..."

"He's Chronos," Eva said flatly. "And for the record, you turned your head away. You might - key word here, _might _have seen him, if you'd been looking. He popped in before Megatron could finish the job, grabbed me from Megatron's fingers, replaced me with another human, and then popped back out. Honestly, for a Seeker-"

"I should have been paying more attention."

"Hell to the yes. It's a wonder you haven't crashed yet," Eva pushed herself up, pulling the remains of her shirt closer to her body. She scooted to where Starscream could see her more clearly. Then, she smiled and winked. "You're true form is hot, by the way. I like what you've got going on with the heels and the wings and the legs and the..." she drew and outline of Starscream's face with her fingers in the air, "All of _that." _

"My armor isn't in the best shape...I'll have to borrow some of Knockouts tools."

"Count me _out_."

Starscream's lip plates pressed into a line. Eva was trembling, one hand sliding across her torso.

Silence. Then Starscream, voice bouncing off the walls, "What did he do to you, Eva?"

"It's nothing-"

"_What_ did he do?"

Starscream gently lifted Eva from his chest, sliding up across the berth, resting his back against the wall. He rested Eva against his thigh, allowing her to get comfortable.

"I've been on this ship for two days-"

"Chronos...he..." Starscream's mouth dropped open, and he felt a flush of shame; he'd allowed Eva to suffer, hadn't even known she'd been on the Nemesis. "That fragger!"

"He didn't tell you?" Eva raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yes, I was in the glorious company of Howard Darby."

"He had his lips against your throat."

"And you stopped him. He should be recuperating from that slap I gave him, too, but that's not the worst he's dished out."

Eva paused, as if willing herself to continue. Then, her voice became a ragged whisper. "He _did_ touch me, Starscream."

Starscream growled.

"All over. He had me strip down and lay on the ground. He spanked me. Played with me like I was a toy. The first time, Chronos _watched_," Eva gnawed on her lower lip. "Said that I was 'interesting.'"

Starscream extended a talon and Eva caught it. She kissed it lightly, rubbing her cheek against the blunt tip.

"But he didn't...he didn't _do _anything to me, in that sense," Eva pulled away, and then lifted up the remainder of her shirt.

Starscream shuddered, shrinking away. The shock delayed the explosion of rage that followed.

Teeth marks, _human_ teeth marks, littered her stomach and her breasts like a disease. Her sides were mottled and purple, extending up towards the underarms. There were more on her thighs, and when she dropped her shirt and pulled at the neck, Starscream saw even more bites already beggining to bruise across her chest.

"One man did this?"

"Howard Darby. The Devil's child," Eva threw back her head, baring glistening teeth. "Oh, the injustice of coming from the future. He's insane, I tell you. Insane. And he won't stop. He and Chronos, the Timelord, Father Time, the two of them _won't_ _stop_."

When Eva met Starscream's optics, he saw that her cheeks were streaked with tears. "I've had it bad before, Starscream. I've been stuck before, stuck in a rut. But this...this is madness, Starscream, and I can't take it anymore!"

"Eva-"

She pushed away his talon, trying to scoot off his thigh. He blocked her with one hand, dipping his head.

"Running won't solve anything."

She glared. "And this is coming from a _rogue_!"

Her words were so harsh that Starscream pulled back his hand. She squealed, slid down his armor, and was dumped at the edge of the berth. At that moment, the dry sobbing started, as well as the racketing coughs.

Flecks of her blood painted the berth, and her eyes were hazy, unfocused. She gasped and continued to sob.

Starscream rubbed her back, and this time, she did not resist.

They had to get out of here. All of them. Knockout, Soundwave, some Vehicon's and Insecticon's and even that infernal Dreadwing.

If it had been just Megatron, they'd have a chance. But it was Megatron and Chronos - no, _Chronos_ and Megatron - and those two forces alone were so powerful, and they struck enough fear into the sparks of the Vehicon's and officers to render the entire ship a faceless blob of activity.

Just like the good ole' days.

Starscream sat on his berth, watching Eva dress carefully. He noticed, as she slowly reached down to slide on her new, clean shorts, courtesy of Knockout, that she had morebruises on the back of her thighs, close to her rear. He wrapped long arms around himself and began to rock, willing his mind and body to calm down.

And Eva sat and sobbed.

* * *

He had to get out of here.

"Eva," he said gently, sliding off the berth. She was struggling with her shirt, her scratched arms refusing to slide through the holes. She cried out in pain when Starscream attempted to help, before finally getting it right. Backwards, but better than nothing.

Starscream placed the tip of his talon under her chin, tilting her head up to meet his optics. "I just need to look into your optics."

"Eyes, Starscream. We call them eyes," she chuckled, but the motion caused her to cough up more blood. "Sorry, sorry, he...he kicked me in the ribs more than once."

"We need a doctor," Starscream murmured.

"A human doctor. The one we have now isn't that great," Eva grinned, revealing bloodied teeth. "I bet Knockout could at least _try _and patch me up a bit."

"Hm," Starscream let his finger rest against her chest, and she gripped the appendage with two hands, savoring the feeling. "I suppose we could try."

"_He's_ in there, though."

"You let me worry about Darby," Starscream rose to his full height, once again longing to somehow kiss her, somehow show his affection. Something other than gentle pat, as if she were a dog.

She was much, much more than that. And Starscream, the selfish, sadistic, crazed Seeker, finally acknowledged it with no objections.

He clasped his hands together and said, "If he touches you, I will end him. And you, my sweet, will dance upon his remains and be filled with joy."


	17. Culminate

Eva's bare feet dragged, the sound unnerving to Starscream – he bent down, talons scraping, leveling his face with hers. "Are your pedes cold?"

"Decent," Eva wrapped arms around herself, her countenance depleted to the point of paleness – actual paleness, a stark contrast to her usually tan, freckled skin. She glanced up at Starscream, grinned grimly, and then went back to kicking at the energon stained ground.

It was the only exchange between the two. They reached the medical bay, greeted by a torrent of sounds; shrieks, screeching of metal against metal, a painfully loud buzz saw and a mad cackle that sliced through it all, prominent as day.

"He's having fun."

"_Too _much fun."

Eva's eyes flickered. Her shoulder bristled and she unwound her arms, hands clenching into deadly fists. "I don't want him near me."

"He _won't_ touch you."

She tilted her head. "Not after what he did to me. Oh, no, I'm going to play the 'unforgiving bitch' stereotype with absolute _pride_."

Starscream sighed, gently ushering her forward with one careful talon. Eva clutched it, pressed her lips against the cold metal, and then stepped forward as Starscream opened the medical bay doors.

The rotten stench of energon hit him first.

What used to be a tidy workplace was now a wreck. Knockout rushed around in a vain attempt to soothe the pain of the various Vehicon's all writhing around on the floor, optics glazed over with a sticky white substance Starscream couldn't identify. Little quarter sized spheres hopped around like scraplets, flashing red, and scrambling after them all was Howard Darby, tossing himself around using a pair of badly constructed crutches.

The buzz saw came from a Vehicon as he, brainwashed, it seemed, was cutting through one of his own comrades – a screaming, hollering comrade – with optics white and glazed, stoic, as if the act wasn't fazing him the slightest. He seemed to be bringing the saw down again and again, without purpose, relishing the screams.

Energon sprayed. Howard shouted something, stumbling and collapsing to his knees and sound stopped, save for the strangled squawks of the sliced Vehicon, as soon as his crutches hit the floor.

His head snapped up and he grinned, revealing blood specked teeth.

"Why'd the music stop?" he pulled himself forward. Starscream got a good glimpse of his mangled legs, twisted beneath him at impossible angles. His eyes were bloodshot, mad, Starscream thought.

He realized that this wasn't Megatron deluded, angry mind or Silas's sick thinking that he was dealing with. No, this was sheer, unadulterated lunacy.

"What music?"

"The screaming," Howard giggled. He peered back towards the twitching, energon splattered Vehicon. The drone was panting, chassis heaving as he fought back wave after wave of agony. His legs were gone, and his remaining arm hung limb, attached by a single, dripping wire. He raised his head when Howard shouted, "Scream, you filthy drone! _Scream_!"

The drone howled.

Howard doubled over into fits of laughter so powerful that, in a few moments, he was crying and wiping away tears. He used his crutch for support, hauling himself to his feet where he stood, balancing delicately on one, slightly less wobbly leg.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he chuckled, sniffing. "Just…_beautiful_. Pain is such an extraordinary theme."

Over in the corner, Knockout glanced up, lip plates pressing into a thin line.

Howard then noticed Eva, who cowered behind Starscream's leg. One crutch dropped. He dragged his way towards Starscream, stopping only when the rogue moved his foot and used it as a shield.

"Protective, much," he murmured, licking his lips. "Eva, babe, why so shy? Is it because of what we…_did_ together?"

Eva expressed her distaste in a string of colorful vocabulary before slinking back, hissing like a snake.

"You were so _good_," Howard cooed. "So soft…so young. Girls like you are _always_ fun."

"_Darby_," Knockout snarled.

"You know, I had a cohort once. Penny. Striking girl with big eyes and chocolate skin…I thought she'd taste like chocolate, if I ever got the chance…I did. It was fantastic," Howard tapped his crutch against the ground. "You remind me of her."

The medical bay fell silent. The brainwashed Vehicon, seemingly in a fit of range, drove the buzz saw into his victim's head.

A jumbled mess of wet wires spilled from the split helm, sliding across the ground, sticky with blue goo. The sound was appalling, and Starscream's tanks jerked.

"Now," Howard clapped his hands together, "I'll let Knockout assist you–"

"How many?"

Both Howard and Starscream glanced down at Eva. She'd emerged from hiding, swaying in a defensive position as she observed Howard. Her red hair was frizzy, giving her the appearance of an avenging goddess that slept in the mouth of a fiery volcano.

And the goddess was _angry_.

"How many what–"

"How many girls have you abused?"

Howard waved a hand. "Unimportant."

Eva stepped forward. "Tell me or I attack."

"_Pah_!" Howard waved one crutch. "Reserve your anger for those who deserve it! I am not the catalyst – Chronos brought me back in time. Attack him!"

"I asked _you_."

It was the first time Howard seemed genuinely stumped. He growled, shoulders bunching. His anger was palpable. He began to mutter, twirling and hobbling over to the small table that served as his desk. "It's because girls are fun," he finished. "Humans are fun, and that's just the way it is."

Knockout wasted no time rushing in and, with Starscream's assistance, tending to Eva's injuries. When she undressed and lay across the berth, Starscream couldn't help but notice her ribs – a peculiar first thing to notice on a creature clad in nothing – and that they seemed to press against her flesh, abnormal for a human. Her legs looked like sticks. Her hips were sharp and her spine looked as if it were about to jump from her back at any second.

"It's alright," she said, noticing Starscream's lingering optics. "Time travel…it…it does stuff to certain people."

"Well, the results depend on how far you travel," Knockout added. "Eva…it is Eva, correct?"

Eva nodded.

"You only traveled forward a few weeks. Darby…well, he traveled centuries. It jammed his processors, pushed him over the limit."

"Is that why…"

Knockout nodded. "You require nourishment, Eva. When was your last…meal?"

"The past."

"Ah," Knockout raised an optic ridge. "I see the problem," he stepped away, sighing. "I'll make a case to Chronos, see if he'll allow me to retrieve some organic food for the human," he clasped Starscream's arm. "Keep her away from_ him_."

"I will."

Knockout strolled from the medical bay. As soon as the doors slid shut, Starscream braced both hands around either side of Eva, dipping his head in shame.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You saved me."

"_No_," Starscream shook his head, quickly. "No. I'm sorry for thrusting you into this conflict…this war was never yours," Starscream bared his teeth. "This war didn't belong to you, or your father…_Primus_, Eva, I'm _so_ sorry…"

"Starscream…"

"I've never been in love."

Eva had her torn shirt draped across her chest. She sat up, clasping it tightly, head a mass of red curls. She blew one out of her eye and chuckled. "Geez, took you long enough. Wait, is that a definite 'I love you,' or…?"

Starscream gnawed on his lower lip.

"I mean, we aren't taking things to fast, right?" she added quickly. "I die, get brought back, you almost die, we fall in love. You get the girl. Happy endings for _all_ of us," she spoke the last few words bitterly. "Isn't that how the story's supposed to end?"

"I don't know how _our_ story will end, Eva."

Eva laughed. "No one does. Not Chronos, not Knockout or Darby or my father…"

"At least say it back to me."

"Fine," Eva shuffled and sat on her knees, holding the shirt like a lifeline. She opened her mouth, faltered, and then led into a laugh. "Okay, okay. Serious face," she exhaled. "I, Eva Grace Bishop–"

"Oh, dear, are we 'getting married'?"

"No, you moron. Shut up and listen. Anyway, I, Eva Grace Bishop, hereby propose my love to the esteemed yet somewhat puerile Air Commander Starscream."

Starscream grinned toothily.

Eva rolled her eyes and said, "Basically, it means that I love you. I love you _so_ much."

Starscream's optics glistened with unshed tears, and he turned away. A part of his processors shrieked at how weak he was acting. He'd never loved anyone the way he loved Eva, couldn't love anyone the way he loved her, and yet, despite everything they'd been through – assault, death, pain, fear – he knew that someone, Chronos or Megatron or anyone, really, could barge in and tear what they'd built to shambles.

He cupped his hand around the human, pressing his face close. She peppered soft kisses against his metal lips.

"I love you, Eva. Nothing can convince me otherwise."

She pulled away, falling onto her back, shirt still hugging her bare chest. The blood had been washed away, yet the bruises, the signs of abuse, were still glaring hotter than the sun. Ignoring Howard's jeers as he set Vehicon on Vehicon and started another horrific melody, Starscream scooped Eva into his palm and strolled out of the medical bay.

He stopped at a corner, wings bristling. "So, explain to me you're plan of escape?"

"We're getting off this ship and heading to the Autobots," Eva said briskly. "All of us. Knockout, Dreadwing, Soundwave, and a few Vehicon's, if we can manage."

"Then what?"

"Maybe contact my dad. Then, we go to war," Eva pulled on the shirt, ignoring the spacious holes. "You, me, the Autobots, some Decepticon's, and M.E.C.H up against Megatron and the ancient god Chronos, Father of Time," she barked a laugh. "What are the odds of us being successful? I don't know, I don't care. We're hitting it, Screamer. In it to win it."

"You've regained your usual flare, I see."

"Hey, we're nearing the conclusion," Eva smiled, but it was a sad smile. "We're going to create a legacy, whether we want to or not. If we lose, Earth falls, but we'll be remembered."

Starscream nodded, and then, for the first time, puffed out his chest in absolute _defiance_.

"The best part of any story is always the ending."


	18. Escape

**Here's the next chapter! Not much action - don't worry, we're leading up to it, for sure!**

**Anyway, I _have_ been thinking about changing the story rating to M...mostly because of Howard and what actions I have planned for him in the future. What can I say - the sicko is fun to write. **

**Thanks for sticking with me this long, and I hope you enjoy! **

* * *

A tremendous clang jolted Starscream out of a twitch filled recharge. One leg kicked, and he heard a distant cry of alarm. A female cry of alarm. His talons curled around Eva, who lay sprawled across his chest, catching her in a grip and holding her up as he swung his legs over the side of the berth, joints popping, appendages aching.

"By the Allspark," he grumbled, rubbing sleep-hazed optics. "What is that noise?"

"Knockout's back," Eva replied sleepily.

As if on cue, the door to Starscream's quarters slid open. Three hulking figures stepped through, ducking down, as if trying to hide from some unseen force. The doors slid shut and the lights overhead clicked on, revealing a scowling Knockout, a glowering Dreadwing and a stoical Soundwave. The quietest of the Decepticon's walked with a slight hitch, though his visor was blank as ever.

"Can you _believe_ this…" Knockout gestured to a small, jagged scratch that ran down his chassis. "This is what I get for going through all this trouble – be grateful, Starscream, that I find your mate amusing or else–"

"Be grateful that I didn't slice you to bits for interrupting my much needed recharge, Knockout," Starscream waved a deadly talon. "Did you get the food?"

Knockout spat and held out a servo. In the center lay the crumpled mess of meat and grease mashed together with a few fruits. It looked as if it had taken a leap of a cliff and hadn't survived the fall.

But still, when presented with it, Eva grasped it and shoved it into her mouth. All the mech's watched, Dreadwing shaking his head sadly, wings bristling. His keen, crimson optics proceeded to scan Starscream's face, devoid of anything but malice.

"Don't eat to fast…" Starscream murmured, and then added, "Love."

Knockout made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat. "Save your affection for private. Just because I risked my tailpipe zipping around town, acting like a carrier pigeon and even _having my paintjob scratched_ for one human doesn't mean that I _like _her," Knockout scowled. He tilted his head, looking Eva up and down, as if he didn't know what to make of her. "Yet your pet seems not to mind."

"She's used to _pricks_," Starscream murmured.

"No surprise. She spends all her time around _you_," Knockout replied airily. "So subtle yet so…_obvious_. She's even changed your insults – _prick_? That's a human term, Starscream."

"He was talking bout' my father," Eva said through a mouthful of food. She wiped her mouth with her shirt, nodding her head in apprehension. "My dad's the one I'm used to hanging around. Starscream fits more into the douche category, at times."

Starscream rolled his optics, and Eva chuckled, stroking one of his talons to emphasize her playful tone.

"Well _I_ agree," Knockout snapped. "Your pet is absolutely correct, Starscream–"

"Oh, you're just upset because your prestigious paintjob has a…what do the human's call it?"

"Boo-boo?" Eva suggested. Starscream nodded, slender talons reaching towards Knockout's face.

"Besides, that isn't the worst you've been through."

Knockout seemed to deflate once he realized that both Soundwave and Dreadwing were silent, refusing to come to his aid. The smaller, red mech sauntered over and sat on Starscream's berth, crossing long legs and arms, surveying the group before him.

"I suppose," Knockout scratched at his chin. "Much worse is to come – I can sense it in the air."

"We'll all be dead by next week if we don't do something," Eva mumbled.

"Agreed," Dreadwing rumbled.

Starscream stepped back, eyeing the broad, stoical mech with wary optics. Starscream nestled Eva close to his chassis, back hunching, wings fluttering lightly. For a brief moment he wished Knockout and the others would just leave him alone; he and Eva had a lot of catching up to do.

_Catching up._ Not planning an escape or a mutiny or whatever.

"I've scoped out the area. Chronos has some brainwashed, jacked up Vehicon's running the groundbridge, and a few more patrolling the halls. But I say, Darby can only work so fast, especially without _my_ assistance."

"We need to take a handful of Vehicon's and blow this joint –"

"Not yet," Dreadwing replied. "Not now."

"She wasn't asking you–" Starscream snapped.

Dreadwing turned, stomping forward on heavy pedes. Knockout shot from the berth, invisible with speed, sliding between Starscream and Dreadwing. "Now, now," he cooed. "No need for any unnecessary…"

"_Quarrels_," Starscream drawled. "Yes, of course. How silly of me – I apologize, Dreadwing. We _are_ on the same side, correct?"

The big mech nodded, but continued to glower from the shadows.

"So, give it to me, medic," Eva called. "Groundbridge. Where, what, when and how?"

"Soon."

"_Soon_?" Eva seemed to whine.

"I'm on Dreadwing's side. Darby will keep producing more mindeaters, and Chronos will keep infecting random Vehicon's. You should see them, Starscream – Chronos has them line up like pigs for slaughter, and then he…" Knockout trailed off, shaking his head. Crimson, polished armor squeaked as he trotted back over to the berth. "It disgusting."

"But it's _working_," Eva said, and then shrugged when three pairs of optics and one blank visor swiveled to look at her. She'd pulled her shirt back on, finished the meal and was picking crumbs from the bloodstained cotton. "It's effective. Look, we're _all _scared. _All _of us," she glanced at Soundwave, "But we can either choose to sit here like a bunch of frightened ducks, or we can escape on our own and then take the fight back to Chronos."

"What's he's planning will doom us all," Starscream said sullenly.

"With the help of whom?"

Eva's eyes twinkled, and she laughed – the sound was high pitched, and just a tad unnerving.

"I heard Optimus Prime isn't busy on the weekends – maybe we can call him in for an assist."

* * *

Starscream raised a hand, signaling for Knockout, Soundwave and Dreadwing to stop – which they did. Eva sat perched between the plating on his shoulder, keeping a firm handhold on any stray, benign wires. Her presence soothed Starscream's shaking knees, caused him to forget the suicide mission they'd embarked on, if only for a moment.

He watched as two white-eyed, brainwashed Vehicon's passed, feet dragging, arms dangling. As soon as they turned a corner, Starscream gestured with one talon, and Dreadwing, Knockout, and Soundwave darted into the open corridor.

He followed on heavy pedes. Eva acted as an extra set of eyes, watching his back, silent. She seemed to avert her gaze whenever Starscream twisted his head to try and look at her, as if she was embarrassed – afraid, even.

She had every right to be. A while back they'd passed the relic room, the one with the gaping hole that had long been fixed. The room where she'd died.

"You know, you're going to have to tell me the whole story," Knockout whispered, bracing himself against the wall as an Insecticon sauntered before them, turning another corner, oblivious. He vented softly, and Starscream followed his gaze to where Soundwave and Dreadwing hid, poised, ready. Knockout said, "About how…" he gestured to Eva, "_This_ happened."

"Later," Eva answered.

Knockout shook his head, stepping out into the open, desolate hall. Starscream took the opportunity to get a good grasp on his bearings – Chronos's quarters were to the left, the medical bay to the right, and the main controls straight ahead. The massive door was closed, and Starscream wasted no time tiptoeing lightly to press his audio receptors against the cold steel.

He heard nothing, save for the soft thrum of machinery.

He hopped back and glanced at Dreadwing, who'd mustered the bravery to ease out of hiding. Wings bristling, the broad mech joined Starscream before the door, hands behind his back.

"Officers first," Starscream crowed, emphasizing the words with a dramatic flourish that had Eva groaning.

Dreadwing punched in a code and the door slid open.

Hunched over the controls was a Vehicon, brainwashed and eerie, servo's positioned over the monitor. He seemed to be the only drone present, the only one manning the station, and the entire scene was so bizarre to Starscream that he had to blink, do a double check, and then blink again.

"Barghest and Cerberus are probably stalking around somewhere," Knockout strolled forward, head on a swivel. "But where? Where are those dogs…"

As if on cue, a soft, almost dreary howl echoed throughout the ship. Far away, but still somber enough to send Starscream's own wings fluttering.

"They're coming," Dreadwing murmured.

"Why is Chronos leaving the groundbridge unattended?" Eva clutched Starscream's shoulder plating as the slender mech joined Knockout at the monitor. The brainwashed Vehicon continued to work, ignorant. Even when Starscream growled and slashed a claw across his visage, ending his life, the Vehicon just slumped onto the monitor, hot energon spraying in every direction. He hadn't even put up a decent fight.

"Maybe he _wants _us to escape?"

"Pah. Unlikely."

"Then why aren't we dead?" Eva demanded. "Why aren't Cerberus and Barghest guarding the bridge – it's what I would do. It's what Megatron would do, I'm sure. It's what any leader would do."

"Chronos has his own way of operating," Knockout grumbled.

Eva sighed, and then repeated, "He wants us to get out."

Her words were interrupted by the booting of machinery and the swirling vortex of green and blue light that appeared before Starscream and the others. Soundwave had activated the groundbridge, silently, and was now turning slowly to face the small group. He pointed towards the center, and then began to walk through.

"Soundwave!" Knockout hissed.

"We ought to follow," Dreadwing said sourly. "Abandon this infernal ship while we can – without Megatron's leadership, it is a lifeless vessel…"

"..Simply in comatose," Starscream snapped, sliding out of Dreadwing's punching-range. He backtracked towards the bridge, following in Soundwave's measured footsteps. "We have to take our chances."

"He's planning something," Eva murmured. "Or else we'd be dead. I swear to you, we'd all be dead."

Starscream smirked as Knockout and Dreadwing sprinted past, pedes clanking, straight into the gaping mouth of the groundbridge. Then, with little regard for the dead Vehicon with his face half sprayed across the monitor, Starscream turned and followed them both into the twisting, writhing green void.


	19. Shutout

**I'm back! Sorry for the late update - I've been busy, my muse hasn't been at it's best...luckily, it picked back up. **

**Anyway, apparently this story isn't getting as many views as I thought...we're getting close to the finale ( as you'll see by the end of this chapter) and I hope you all will just bear with me until then. Review, as always, tell me if you love or it want to flush it down your toilet. I'm always open to criticism ( as long as it's not something like "ew, your story suks") or anything like that. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Starscream didn't process the heavy smoke until he had fallen to one knee and wrenched Eva from his shoulder.

She landed with a thud. He glanced up, at the thick cloud hit him. Energon sprung instinctively from his eyes, soot clogged his intakes, causing him to double over and choke. His talons dug deep grooves into the dirt, ripping up weeds.

The forest was burning.

Flames danced, tree's split. Starscream heard the groundbridge disappear and spun, ash floating idly before his twitching optics. Fire surrounded him, on his left, his right, creeping towards his legs and causing his cooling fans to kick in, thrumming wildly.

Trapped.

It took a gust of smoke and an explosion to snap him back into reality. He turned wildly, tripped over his own feet, and landed on a burning branch, spraying hot embers in every direction. When he regained his composure, he realized that Eva was gone.

"Eva! _Knockout_!"

The group had been separated, somehow. Torn apart by some unseen force. Starscream fiddled with his comm and found the signal jammed; he cursed and yelped as a small tree toppled, nearly crushing his foot.

_Frag!_

_Where was Knockout? Dreadwing? Soundwave?_

_Eva?  
_

_What was going on?_

"You Cybertronian's never learn."

Starscream's shoulders hunched. It was Megatron all over again. Having to watch his back, hearing that horrific sneer, that dark chuckle and feeling the condescending gaze on the back of his neck - he felt it now, ten times hotter than the sun - always, always, orn after orn. Who was to say that Chronos, now mounted on his puffing horse, was any better?

"You've been waiting."

"I have."

"We fell for it," Starscream gave a nervous laugh. "We fell for one of my tricks - I've been doing this forever, you know. You've stolen my style."

"Trickery was never your style to begin with," Chronos raised his hand, and the glittering, iridescent mace materialized out of thin air, sharp and deadly. His horse snorted, smashing hooves into the burning grass.

"Who's was it?"

"Mine. _Always_ mine."

Maybe it was a trick of the light. Maybe it was luck. Starscream saw Dreadwing before Chronos, and he knew - absolutely knew - that whatever fight was about to take place, wouldn't go down well.

The great horse whined and kicked, trotting to the side. Chronos swung his mace, but he was far to slow, and only managed to nick Dreadwing in the foot. The Decepticon twisted in midair, slapped a palm against Chronos's back, and dropped into a painful skid that sent him tumbling into the burning forest.

Starscream stepped back, mouth agape.

Chronos exploded. His back _exploded - _erupted outward in a mess of black goo and guts and entrails. Starscream was showered by the material, and it stung his lips and his eyes and his audio receptors.

_Bomb mech Dreadwing._

_Hah._

Starscream grinned. Chronos wobbled, lizard eyes unfocused. The gigantic, gaping hole was cauterized, a charred, blackened mess.

And then Chronos was smiling.

The blackened, charred, cauterized hole was healing, and the monster was still grinning and raising his mace to finish the job.

* * *

"Four signals."

Ratchet leaned forward, squinting. The monitor was alit. Optimus stood with his arms crossed, head tilted to the side, observing. Jack Darby was spoonfeeding his trembling mother, while a hunched Miko and quiet Rafael watched.

"There's been reports of a pretty big fire outside of Jasper," Jack said suddenly. Tired eyes gazed at the Autobots, his hand stroking his mother's hair. She was asleep, now, wrapped in blankets. "It's been raging for a few hours."

"Coincidence," Ratchet huffed.

Jack glanced up, lips pulled into a thin line.

"I don't think so," Wheeljack said from the corner. His swords dangled at his side, his back against the wall. His head was ducked, but his words were clearly audible. "Nothing's ever a coincidence. Not anymore. I saw we send out the troops - just for ole' times sake."

Optimus turned to Wheeljack, and for a moment, Jack thought he saw a flicker of appreciation.

"Arcee, Wheeljack and I will investigate. Bulkhead and Bumblebee will stay behind for backup," Optimus turned. "Wheeljack - I assume you are comfortable following my orders?"

Jack smirked. Optimus's tone wasn't it's usual, calm baritone. It had deepened to something else, something serious.

"You're the boss, boss."

* * *

Chronos hurtled the mace at Starscream.

Starscream dropped. Rolled and rolled and rolled as the mace soared past, flipping like a throwing knife, before looping around and returning to Chronos's hands.

He lifted his head. Saw the horse stomp, and then dip its head, preparing to charge. Chronos swung the mace like a baton.

Starscream was torn between transforming, or running. He had to find Eva, he told himself. Had to find her - make sure she hadn't suffocated or fainted or, even, crushed beneath Knockout or Soundwave or Dreadwing's pede as they'd been stumbling through the forest, oblivious.

A milion things could happen to Eva. All nasty. All resulting in her death, something Starscream could never, ever experience.

His shoulder's hunched, and his lip plates pulled back over bared denta.

"Come at me."

"You - "

Chronos fell from his charger. Landed on his side, a bleeding gash in his shoulder. His horse whined and kicked, hopping away, obscured by flames.

Another blow, this one executed slower. Starscream saw Arcee before he heard her bellow a mighty cry of war, skidding into view, guns raised.

She fired and Chronos's snout erupted. It then healed along with his shoulder, leaving Arcee a poised, startled looking mess.

"Run, you two-wheeler!" Starscream roared. "Run! You can't fight him!"

Arcee darted to the side, and Chronos scooped up his mace from the grass. He flung it with the speed of a bullet, but Arcee had anticipated and was already leaping, already twisting.

She fired as the mace passed harmlessly beneath her, and Chronos's leg was blown out from under him.

"It's a boomerang!"

Starscream's warning came too late. As Arcee landed, The mace ripped the winglets from her shoulders. Chronos caught the maiming weapon, falling to one knee. Energon sprayed from Arcee's wounds, and she howled.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Starscream saw several things. Optimus Prime, Wheeljack and Knockout, all bounding, Optimus with a limp figure cuddled to his chassis, and Dreadwing, streaking towards the rapidly forming groundbridge.

"Arcee, _retreat_!" Optimus rumbled. "Into the groundbridge - Starscream as well!"

Arcee, her pedes carrying her towards the groundbridge, instinct driving her towards Chronos, growled and shot Starscream a look. Chronos was busy healing his wounded leg. When he looked up, his lizard eyes glared hatred.

Winglets gone, energon seeping from the jagged holes, Arcee grasped Starscream's arm and dragged him to the bridge, to Optimus - who had an unconscious Eva in his arms - and to safety.

He was halfway through the bridge when he realized that Soundwave wasn't with them.

* * *

Soundwave was going to die.

He knew it. He saw it. Barghest and Cerberus were snarling and snapping, but Chronos was keeping them back. The lizard-beast had hobbled from the burning forest, towards the lake, mace dragging. His horse trotted lightly.

A hole in his armored thigh was healing, flesh molding, black blood no longer flowing. Muscle flexed under thick material, and Chronos's eyes were wandering; passing over Cerberus and Barghest.

Soundwave thought about fighting. Using his tentacles while the dogs salivated over him, crimson eyes glowing.

He could fight. Fight like he did in the old days.

Fight like Megatron.

Fight like a gladiator.

But for some reason, the dog's had him paralyzed. _He was paralyzed._

_"I, Megatron, relieve you, Soundwave - Communication's Officer of the Decepticon Army, former gladiator, personal consultant, of duty."_

_May you rust in peace._

Behind his visor, Soundwave smiled.

"My dog's must eat," Chronos mumbled. His lizard tongue licked away blood, and he sat on his hunches. "I have to eat. It's the circle of life, however, they prefer flesh...you'll have to do."

Cerberus and Barghest lunged. Soundwave heard the tearing of metal.

Soundwave couldn't feel his left arm anymore. Couldn't feel his chest. Or his eyes. Or his face or his legs or...

_Or..._

_He couldn't feel his..._


	20. Transform

Thank Primus for the Autobots.

The words flowed through Starscream's brain, evident, prominent, rendering him a huddled mess against the wall. The silo was packed with members of each faction, some squabbling, others silent. Wheeljack. Starscream. Dreadwing. Ratchet. Optimus. Knockout. Arcee. Bulkhead. Bumblebee. A load of humans as well, some familiar, some not.

Eva distanced herself from her own kind, refusing to receive medical attention from the adult male human – Fowler, Starscream remembered, the one he'd tortured with an energon prod earlier in the year – who was doing his best to try and coax Eva away from Starscream with hushed words of warning. Eva brushed them aside as if they were nothing.

Prime questioned them. Ratchet fed them energon, cautious, even though he knew that the odds were not in Starscream, Dreadwing and Knockout's favor, should there be a fight. All three were exhausted, depleted of nourishment. All three lacked Soundwave – Starscream had never much liked the communication's officer, but he was a necessity.

Probably dead. _Was_ dead.

Starscream rested his helm against the wall, stretching out his legs. He felt Eva place a gentle kiss to his armor.

"You're alright, babe," she cooed, tracing tattoos in the worn, scratched metal. "We'll get through this."

Gone was the snarking, the derisive gestures. Starscream glanced down into her big eyes and felt himself smiling.

"You need to drink," Ratchet approached, servos on his hips. "Optimus wants to brief all of you – together. We need your glossa to do the talking," he rolled his eyes. "Which I doubt you'll have trouble with."

"The ever irritable medic," Starscream crowed, "At it again. Long time no see, Autobot. I don't think we've ever had the chance to chat since Cybertron's fall."

"I'm not complaining," the medic replied simply, casting a glance at Eva. "I see you've found yourself a pet."

Starscream's wings fluttered, and his shoulders hunched dangerously. "She is no pet."

Ratchet stared, and then thudded over to join Optimus next to the monitor.

The Prime began to speak, slowly. Starscream, as well as everyone else, were drawn to his words – how couldn't on be?

"This…Chronos situation has escalated much faster than we've anticipated…I have myself to blame for that. I was not alert. I doubted that the danger would be as terrible as it is…worse than Unicron, worse than Megatron, for what force is possibly _great_ enough to drive three primary officers from the confines of their factions?" The Prime shook his head. "It seems that we must resort to a full-on physical confrontation."

"We'll lose," Arcee grumbled. She'd exited the groundbridge last. Ratchet had patched up her winglets, though they still leaked drops of energon.

"Individually, maybe, but all of you together?" the human boy, Jack, spoke up. "How powerful is this guy–"

"He took down Megatron in less than ten seconds," Starscream answered, raising his voice. "He took ten seconds to do what it would take me a millennium. He took control of the system."

"We can still fight," Eva murmured.

"And fight we will," Dreadwing said. "Fight we will, and die we will. I have no qualms regarding either. Fight for glory, die with honor."

"And leave Earth to rust?" Bulkhead snapped. "No, way. Just…no."

"We have to do _something_," Eva said hoarsely.

Once again, all eyes fell on Optimus Prime. The benevolent mech stood rigid, head dipped, brows furrowed. Thinking. Planning. Starscream could practically see the gears whirring in his brain as he analyzed every possible scenario that would launch them to some sort of victory.

Starscream's talons scratched across his helm. He refused to meet the angry, pained glances of the Autobots. He was the main receiver of their hatred, save for Wheeljack, who had optics mainly for Dreadwing – the history between the two was palpable, as was the rage. One false move and Wheeljack would snap.

Some team they would turn out to be.

Starscream scoffed. This was it. This was it – the legendary war between two factions, the Autobots and the Decepticon's, ended by some random, otherworldly, godlike being with enough loathing to destroy life as they knew it.

It was almost ironic.

Almost.

"Something funny, Seeker?" Wheeljack said dryly.

"I was just thinking," Starscream giggled, "I was just…thinking, Wheeljack. No need to worry. No need to worry at all."

Something struck him. Sudden. So, so sudden that he jerked and flailed.

He glanced down at Eva, saw her eyes staring at him, knew that it was wrong, and asked the question anyway.

"You remember the relic that changed me into a human…well…do you still have…"

* * *

They were going to fight.

They'd lose for sure. The numbers were stacked – their opponents would be clumsy due to the effects of the mindeaters, all battle skills lost. It would be something short of a slaughter fest until they reached Chronos, Barghest and Cerberus and, possibly, Megatron, if he had retained some of his skill. Then they'd lose.

But they'd go out fighting.

They had to.

Maybe it was an honor thing – yes, in Dreadwing's case – or maybe despair had finally reached them all, consuming them. Two different stories had been told – a boy who wanted to learn the secrets, learn about a father he remembered but so desperately wanted to forget and a mother in anguish, filled with agony, having endured so, so much, along with a girl. A girl who's friend had been…_corrupted _by the father, a man so evil that he could share a throne with the Devil.

And then, the story of a Seeker. An ordinary Seeker, by default, for he was just a competent and arrogant as his brethren that had perished on Cybertron.

He'd changed on the outside, and on the inside.

He'd met a girl – a woman, now. He'd loved her. He'd done everything he could, but in the end, he'd been blinded by his own ambition, something he'd done in the past, and he'd lost her. He'd lost her, then he'd gotten her back, and now he was probably going to lose her again.

More would die. That girl, the one Bulkhead's human pet, Miko, spoke so fondly about, Penny, hadn't been the last, neither had Arthur or Soundwave…

Starscream, sitting on his rear in the hallways of the Autobot base, buried his helm in his talons.

_Oh, Primus, what have you done?_

_Look what you've gotten us into! You've changed me, made me love, taken that love from me, made me feel pain and now…now…now you want to end all of us! For what?_

_For what? What have we done to upset you?_

"Don't cry."

Starscream felt her shadow fall across his frame. He felt no regrets. His suggestion had been appropriate, and Eva had gone along with it. Starscream had left the room, then.

He'd heard the screams as Eva tried to fill herself with enough hate to allow the relic to work. Ratchet had held out pictures. He'd even pushed her down at one point.

He'd heard the explosion, the shouts. Tasted the smoke, the same he'd inhaled when he'd been changed. This was the opposite effect.

And now, here she was.

A Seeker.

"Arcee and Bumblebee retrieved the renovator from the lake," Eva said, her voice loud and ringing. Starscream still didn't look up. "They've saved it for later, you know, in case I want to change back."

No reply.

"Starscream, talk to me. Are you pissed? Is your underwear all in a knot?" Eva knelt down, and Starscream buried his head deeper. He felt her servos – not talons, but blunt appendages that sent sparks down his frame – brush against his cheek. She slowly tilted her head.

He was greeted with pursed lip plates – curved, he realized, just like Eva's. Big optics, just like Eva's. Smooth facial plating, just like Eva's. Her helm was red, like the color of her hair. Red helm, armor red with a bit of blue mixed in.

Long, beautiful wings.

"Miko designed it," she said. "Designed the rough draft, I guess. This…this is the shape it modeled me after. Do I still look like me?"

"Yes," Starscream croaked.

"Arcee is going to train me tomorrow, just for a little while," she glanced away. "These drones will be under the influence of the mindeaters…lumbering, zombie-like creatures," she laughed suddenly. "I…I can fight zombies, right? _Right_?"

She slipped and straddled Starscream. The move was awkward, executed quickly as she adjusted to her new height and weight. Starscream's wings scraped against the wall, but he didn't care. The curve of her chest plates was against his spark, and he could feel the essence _beating_…thrumming as the pleasure increased.

She pressed her forehead against his.

"Tell me," she breathed, "That nothing is going to happen…"

His talons curled around her waist, but he did not speak.

Just sat.

"I don't want to die, either. I'm afraid of it. All this time," he squeezed, "I've just been afraid. I've tempted myself with death, I've tried to kill myself…yes, yes I have, I've tried even before I met you. But I was just too _afraid_."

Eva buried her head against his neck, glossa grazing the sensitive wiring. He shuddered.

"Let's not be afraid anymore?" she murmured. "Let's just…be…_us_. Starscream and Eva. Eva and Starscream. That's all we _have_ to be, _right_?"

Starscream smiled.

* * *

"Death is not the end of fear," Chronos growled. "One death, two deaths, fear is still there. There must be _killing_," he giggled, a long, black tongue shooting from his open maw, licking his snout. "I have an army, now, an army. Megatron is now a mindless…_babe_."

_"Then kill."_

"I cannot," Chronos stared at his reflection. It wore the same armor. Same expression. Same deranged eyes.

He was at a pond. The dogs were carrying their meals. Soundwave's head had been tossed to the bottom of the pond, but it wasn't deep enough, so the head was half poking through the water. Fish nipped at it, curious.

Behind him, Cerberus and Barghest tore at the smashed limbs of the communications officer, eating the wires, crunching, slurping. They regarded Chronos with mild interest as he spoke to the creature staring back at him.

_"What do you fear?"_

"The Autobots. The Decepticons. They are stronger than anticipated."

_"Kill them."_

"Such has proven…difficult."

Chronos understood his own madness. His reflection spoke to him regularly.

But it was never…_angry_.

_"Then you are a coward."_

"False! I am a pragmatic when it comes to tactical decisions…you are just a fabrication," Chronos's slit eyes twitched. "I listen to no one! No! One!"

_"Coward. You cannot kill because you are afraid."_

"I am not afraid," Chronos stumbled away from the pond, and his reflection retreated as well. He landed on his rear. He felt a familiar presence, and his charger trotted from the trees, energon staining its snout.

It bared razor-sharp teeth in a horrific smile.

Chronos found his feet. At his full height, with his enhanced vision, he could see, over the treetops, the city of Jasper, Nevada. Jammed pack full of vibrant, unsuspecting humans.

Full of victims.

Chronos licked his lips and saliva dribbled onto the grass, staining it yellow.

"What if…," he darted over to the pond, "What if I killed. What if I made my kills quick. Random. What if I burned down an entire city?" he fell to his knees and screamed, "Is that something a coward would do? _Is that something a coward would do_?"

His reflection remained silent, unwavering save for when a leaf blew and hit the water, sending out ripples, distorting his image.

He sliced at the water, sliced at his reflection. Then he ran to his horse and threw himself over its side, gesturing to Cerberus and Barghest.

"Leave it," he barked. "Let us go! We have an act to commit, and act of punishment – oh, how I've looked forward to this day! Tomorrow, Jasper, Nevada…and then, we discipline the world."

They rode off, leaving the head of Soundwave face-forward in an algae infested pond.


	21. Hellzone

**Slight update - I've changed the rating to M. I've decided to go ahead due to future scenes planned. **

**Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

Starscream had felt sick.

Not sick with fear – sick with nervousness. Anxiety. The room was lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, a storage room, surprisingly wide and somewhat barren.

He'd shoved Eva inside, and she'd locked the door. Then Starscream, with as much tenderness as a Decepticon could muster, had eased her onto the ground and gripped her hips and kissed her lip plates, gingerly, the action so different from when he was human. Rougher. No less enjoyable.

She'd retaliated, digging blunt fingers up under his chest plates, popping them open with a hiss, as if she'd known what to do, all along.

They'd allowed programming and instinct to do the rest.

He couldn't stop kissing her. Licking at her armor, at her spark, exposed. They made love and it was much more passionate than Starscream had expected. Murmured in her ear, stroked her helm while she clutched at his arms. He could care less whether or not they made noise – which they did. Moans and grunts and cries and pleas to each other.

He'd told her he loved her, and she'd replied the same, over and over.

"We should have done this…_forever _ago," Eva murmured, burying her head in his neck, nipping at the wires. Starscream's hands massaged her wings. "Like, a long, long time ago."

"I would have still been human."

"Whatev's," Eva smirked against him. "Human or not, you've got game, buddy!" she leaned up, claws tickling his cheeks as she kissed him once again. "Like, serious mojo."

Starscream beamed. "I haven't been complemented like that for eons. Needless to say, my last partner wasn't particularly..._devoted _to the relationship…"

Eva chuckled, red lenses swirling in the pit of her glowing optics. Then she rested her head against Starscream's closes chassis, extended an arm and latched her servo onto his.

"You didn't have to change, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to fight."

"If you die…"

"I won't die."

She squeezed harder. Whimpered in pleasure as Starscream's talons found the deep grooves of her wings, hastily exploiting them. Then he scooted forward, heels scratching against the concrete, so Eva's face was level with his.

"Three words," he purred.

"You. Are. Hot."

"Wrong words, but a nice touch. I like it…"

"I. Love. You," Eva pressed her lips against his for a long while before pulling away. "_I love you_. And I'm yours. _Always_."

Happiness finally returned to Starscream, and he wrapped his arms tighter around the femme.

It would be such a shame, to have Father Time tear it all apart.

* * *

"It was really nice of you, taking me out here," Sierra said.

She sat, draped out across the back seat of Vince's convertible. The fiery haired teen sat in the passenger's seat with his legs stretched across the driver's side, lounging, nonchalantly chewing on a piece of gum. Trying to act normal. The car was parked atop a hill overlooking Jasper. A beautiful view, for the sun was just beginning to set, casting a warm, orange glow on the landscape. The town was just beginning to fall asleep, and yet…

Vince was cute. Jack Darby was cute, too, but he'd distanced himself from Sierra and everyone else. He rarely came to school. The logical portion of Sierra had asked itself over and over, pleaded, saying, "Go ask Jack what's wrong. It probably nothing. Probably something family related that you wouldn't understand."

Her words wouldn't help, anyway. She'd never been good with words.

Even now, she was flustered, yanking at her skirt. She'd caught Vince staring one to many times, and despite the fact that they'd already made out once – a once and a lifetime offer – Sierra wasn't ready for…that yet._ Especially_ with someone like him.

But he'd made an offer, and she'd taken it.

It had just been a choice, right?

One, simple choice.

"Hey, do you hear that?"

"Hear what, Vince?"

Sierra checked her phone. Checked the time. Checked her text. Two from her mother, one from her cousin. He had a birthday coming up.

Sierra never saw the creature burst from the woods. Vince did. And he screamed and screamed and screamed at Sierra, who was reading the text, grinning giddily. Her cousin was so cute – he wanted her to come to his party.

Chronos swung his mace and crushed the two teenagers beneath a ton of spiked metal. Vince died screaming.

Sierra died smiling.

* * *

"Signal detected, and whatever it is, it's heading for Jasper," Ratchet said loudly. Dreadwing shot to his feet. Knockout lifted his head and mouthed the words, "_oh, Primus, no_."

"I'll send out an alert," Fowler said immediately, standing, leaving June on the couch. As he jogged, he said, "It too late for an evacuation – I'll have everyone hunker down in their basements. It's the least I can do."

Then he was gone.

"Knockout, you'll stand by with Ratchet," Optimus rumbled. "There will be injuries to tend to, I'm sure of it."

The Prime turned his massive head to regard Starscream and Eva, both dragging themselves from the hallway. They looked flustered. He asked, "Are you two ample enough for battle?"

"Never been better," Eva answered sheepishly. Starscream gave a curt nod.

Jack watched from the corner. He had a hand on his mother's forehead. She was still running high, running a fever that he could do nothing about.

Couldn't do anything. Helpless.

Helpless and watching as his friends, his allies, his _family_ geared themselves up for a fight. Arcee met his eye briefly – briefly, but in Jack's mind, it was an eternity.

Like she knew what was coming, and didn't want to tell him.

Her lip plates curled into a recognizable smile, and she saluted him quickly.

* * *

Foam dripped from Cerberus's three heads. He was eager, hungry, salivating as he observed the town before him.

Chronos could tell.

He saw cars, roaring past. The police were out – some sign that the authorities were involved. The human's – they could sense fear like animals, even if they were the one generating it…

His vision was superior. He could see a family being ushered from the outskirts, driven away in a vehicle with flashing lights and howling sirens. They were one of many.

He saw a little girl clutching her blanket. A boy with his action figures, all bundled against his chest. Both were crying.

Chronos licked his lips, and Barghest snarled. Then the horse kicked at the dirt, nearly dousing the fire behind him.

Behind him, bodies burned. The car was on fire, crackling, snapping.

"Madness tastes sweet," he murmured, his lizard tongue flicking and scenting the air. Oh, how he loved the taste. How he loved it.

It tasted like home.

Chronos had been born in the age of Primus. In the age of Unicron. He was older than Earth, older than Cybertron. Certainly older than a Prime and his half-witted gang of misfit Autobots. For he was _time_, and time was ageless.

Without him, time would not have continued to exist. If he died, his essence would travel the galaxy and find a new host…

Time would end up killing them all. Chronos. Spawned a trillion years ago by accident on some dying planet. A Greek god in physical form.

Someone like him couldn't die, and that understanding cured the gnawing anxiety in the pit of his stomach. Those Autobot's, they'd fight. He was physical, and therefore could be wounded, to some extent.

He'd have to kill Prime. Yeah. Kill Optimus Prime, and the rest would be his for the taking. They'd crumble. Destroy themselves first, for this was his planet. Not to rule, but to discipline.

Today, Jasper, Nevada, tomorrow, the world.


	22. Hammerfall

**You guys are in for a treat with this chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chronos unsheathed a weapon – one of Dreadwing's guns. He'd stolen it from the mech's stash.

He fired.

The van exploded and the people inside barely had time to scream.

_Chronos: 1 Humanity: 0_

Bullets pinged off his armor. A nuisance. They were like flies to him, irritating, but not enough to hinder his terrifyingly violent performance.

His charger whined, kicked at the asphalt, creating deep grooves. It surged forward, crushing people and cars and concrete beneath it, Chronos saddled to its back, swinging his mace in a circle.

Like polo, almost. Chronos dipped low and swung and hit a car that bounced, bounced, burst through the front glass of an old antique shop. Muffled shrieks of terror joined with the background roar – a blaze of gunfire, the howl of sirens that lit the street like a multicolor, red and blue fire.

Noise! More cries! The attack had taken the humans by surprise – more and more were on the streets, running from the scene. Men. Women. Children. All dressed in late-night apparel, hugging each other, sobbing, crying.

All heading down the street in one direction. Chaos had taken control.

Chronos had taken control.

"Run, you panicked sheep, run! Run from the true predator," his horse reared and thundered off. Chronos swung his mace. Bodies fell, impaled on spikes or crushed beneath thick hooves.

A man shrieked, caught himself, and was crushed.

A woman sailed through the air and was caught between massive jaws as Barghest and Cerberus erupted from – _through_ – a supermarket, fur wet with beads of blood.\

One of Cerberus's heads caught the woman, and Barghest grappled with her legs. They both pulled and she came apart like a chew toy, ripped into two pieces.

Chronos laughed and thundered on. More! More had to die!

A swing and a miss. Embarrassed, Chronos pulled back and urged his charger forward. The great horse vaulted a smoking police cruiser, stomped upon a wounded, screaming human, crushing his body like a grape, and ran alongside the humans as they ran, ran, ran, peeling off down streets, seeking refuge inside buildings. Those that did go a separate way were chased down by either Barghest or Cerberus, their tiny, flimsy legs no match for the powerful strides of the hellhounds.

_Chronos: 2, Humanity: 0_

Chronos could have just mowed them down with Dreadwing's gun. Shot all of them dead. However, he took delight in bloodying his mace, swinging and hearing the crunch of flesh and bone. It was slow, it was messy, but the results were…_satisfactory_.

Chronos raised his mace and brought it down and…

A screech of tires. A thick, green vehicle sped around a corner. Any remaining humans scrambled out of the way, and Chronos bellowed, angled his mace as…

The Autobot fishtailed and the drifted, making contact with the horse's legs.

Chronos was pitched from his seat, and he fell. No sooner had his feet touch the ground had a sword – long and gleaming and familiar – buried itself in his back.

It slid all the way through. Came out his stomach. The wound was shocking.

Yellow eyes narrowed, a long, black tongue licking the black blood from his lips. He staggered, and then pushed with all his might…

_Blam!_

His hand blew apart. Exploded!

"Shoot him! Shoot him!" a voice shrieked.

A thousand gunshots, these much more effective and painful, no longer mere flies, fired from every direction. Chronos pulled out the sword and fell, the weapon clanging next to his head.

"Go! Shoot!"

"He's on the ground!"

Blood seeped from the wound. Chronos was startled, confused; was it possible that he, the great Father Time, could lose this fight? The Autobot's, it seemed, had numbers up.

"_Barghest! Cerberus_!" he howled. The hellhounds came loping, coated in a copious amount of crimson.

Chronos glanced up and saw a flash of yellow. Barghest saw and leaped. Chronos couldn't see it, but he could hear the whines and snarls.

He stood, woozy. His horse was regaining its footing, snorting blue saliva from its nostrils. His wounds were healing, but slowly, much too slowly. The third talon on his mangled hand was barely visible, and his stab wound ached.

He was Father Time! He could not lose!

Humanity had to be punished!

Chronos darted across the abandoned Jasper streets, saw a familiar Autobot wheeling a single sword and hopping from roof to roof, towards him. Chronos flung his mace, forcing the Autobot to dive.

He was on his horse before the mace had even returned to his palm.

* * *

"Looping around," Starscream grumbled. He circled the sky above Jasper, watching. Eagle eye. He could see everything, from Wheeljack stabbing Chronos to Bulkhead on the ground, zooming around, to Arcee and Bumblebee leaping and diving and trying to avoid the vicious teeth of the hellhounds.

And down there, somewhere, staging an ambush with assistance from Optimus Prime himself, was Eva.

Dreadwing suddenly shot past, heedless.

"Soundwave deserves to be avenged," he snarled through the link. He angled his wings and spiraled downward.

"Even I know when not to attack, you fool! Pull up," Starscream replied. "_Pull up_!"

Dreadwing wasn't listening. He skimmed the rooftops, right towards Chronos and his charger, blasting off shots. Rapid fire.

The asphalt exploded, was torn to pieces by the bullets. Chronos managed to swerve at the last moment, but still got caught in the shoulder. Black blood spewed.

Dreadwing shot away and looped back around towards Starscream.

_Chronos: 2, Autobots: 1_

Starscream smirked and shot downwards, transforming a little ways away from the conflict. Chronos and his charger were visible through a little sliver of space between the buildings, but the monster did not see Starscream. So the Seeker trotted lightly, arms wrapped around his torso, down yet another vacant street. Towards the north. Towards the industrial plant filled with shining, metal towers and warehouses big enough to host even himself, along with labor machines of all shapes and sizes.

He found Prime and Eva waiting for him, setting up Dreadwing's charges on buildings, on the ground, a straight path leading into a narrow alley. Eva would be there, Starscream supposed, on a hair-trigger, waiting to take the shots. Optimus held the detonator in one hand, tapping his foot…albeit, _impatiently_.

Starscream tilted his face to the moon, feeling a soft hand begin to massage his wings. They unclenched automatically, and Starscream turned to Eva, cupping her face, smoothing the tip of his talon across her full, metallic lips.

"You didn't have to change for me, you know," he murmured.

"Silly Starscream. I didn't do this as much for you as I did my planet," Eva smiled.

"If we fail, if we both live, we'll escape. Find some backwater planet," Starscream dipped his head, brushing his lip plates against Eva's, if ever so briefly. He murmured, "Be together."

A thud interrupted them. Eva placed her hands on Starscream's chassis, pushing away from his slightly. With a flutter of her wings, she walked over to Prime.

"How is this going to go down?"

"Your station atop that roof," Optimus pointed. "Starscream will be with me. Dreadwing will circle around and act as our eye in the sky."

"You lack experience with…_airborne_ Cybertronian's, I see," Starscream drawled. "Dreadwing is as stubborn as a…"

"Mule," Eva finished.

"Yes. Yes, as stubborn as a mule. Don't expect him to sit back while the action rages without him," Starscream bypassed Prime and hauled himself atop the massive, stacked crates that overlooked the entire compound. Optimus clambered with him, and then gave a wave, signaling for Eva to ready herself.

"Bulkhead and Wheeljack are driving Chronos here. Bumblebee and Arcee are keeping those…those _dogs _at bay–"

"Hellhounds," Starscream corrected. He looked, did a double check, and found himself staring into two confused optics. "_Hellhounds_," he repeated. "From another planet – they've been the inspiration for various human myths. Look them up."

Optimus nodded slightly, and then clenched the edge of the crate, anxious. In the distance, the roar of gunfire and a steady, solid drum keeping a slow beat. Dogs howled. Weapons blazed.

"He's coming," Optimus murmured, clasping the detonator.

The thundering of hooves. A cloud of dust billowed, and through it, speeding around a corner, burst Chronos.

As he ran, Starscream caught a glimpse of him: thick wounds across his chest were rapidly healing, and he seemed to be toting something – an arm. One eye leaked black fluid.

Optimus pressed the button.

An upheaval of dirt, and then explosion so loud that Starscream's audio receptors were forced to shut down. The flash of light was blinding.

They rippled down the long row of crates and warehouses and machinery. Part of a bulldozer flipped like a throwing knife, missing Optimus Prime by inches. Smoke assaulted the olfactory sensors of both mechs, causing their intakes to falter.

Starscream spat and rolled over, removing his hands from his ears.

The haze was clearing, but still, he was visible.

Standing upright. Knocked from his horse, which was whining and twisting, its glossy black fur a mess of dirt and blood.

Chronos stood still. Mace held high. Laughing like a maniac. His scales were painted black.

And he lived.

* * *

Wheeljack screeched around a corner, spraying buckets of energon. One tire had been flattened. Chronos had knocked them away and had kept going, heedless, almost as if he'd known...

Whatever. Let the freak be the freak. Wheeljack hadn't had a fun time picking the glass from underneath his armor - he'd been tossed through a nail salon and had come out on the opposite street.

Bulkhead roared behind him.

They'd both heard the explosion. Had felt it, too. Most of the windows were busted.

"This isn't going the way we'd planned," Wheeljack said through the link. He heard Bulkhead give a snort of agreement, the thick green vehicle bypassing Wheeljack. The sports car sped up, hissing in pain as he turned, leaking even more fluid.

The wound wasn't terrible – Chronos had clipped Wheeljack's leg with his mace. Just a scratch, to Wheeljack. But it had instilled something inside him.

He'd been hit by a lizard! A _lizard_! Cold-blooded, riding a _horse_, for Primus's sake!

That just didn't happen in nature, and the fact that Chronos, Father Time, whatever his name was, was so _powerful_….

It made Wheeljack _angry_.

They bypassed crates and warehouses, speeding down the dirt road. Chronos had plowed a trail, and any workers cowering in fear lay sprawled, mashed and mangled. The odor was appalling, a mixture of blood and sweat and the faint hint of horse.

They swerved around a crate and…

Chronos! There! Before them, back turned, in a crater. Mace raised. Scales stripped from his flesh, turning him coal black, a monster made of blood and fear.

"_Jackpot_!"

"Wheeljack, don't!" Bulkhead shouted, careening to a stop.

The sports car transformed, raised his swords, slid under the legs of the teetering, disoriented horse, and thrust them through Chronos's back. The creature shuddered, stumbling forward.

His mace fell.

"_Ha_!" Wheeljack barked. He yanked the swords free and landed on two feet, hoping back as Chronos swung thick, wickedly sharp talons. As he lunged, the new girl, the human-turned Cybertronian, Eva, peppered his back with gunfire from atop a crate several meters away.

It didn't affect him.

At the same moment, Prime and Starscream leaped. Chronos batted Prime away with the arm he was toting, sending him flying, and then lashed out at Starscream with one kick. It made impact and the Seeker flew through the air.

"Starscream!" It was the girl.

"Wheeljack, look out, _look out_!"

Wheeljack was fast. Super-fast. But Chronos was big, and for a big creature, he was agile. He overcame Wheeljack in seconds.

The conflict lasted six seconds.

Wheeljack swung. Missed and the momentum carried him into a spin. Chronos clipped his shoulder, bashing the armor.

The mech bellowed and swung again with his left servo, his favored servo, and the blade cut deep into Chronos's side.

He yanked, but the blade was stuck. He swung with his right servo, towards Chronos's armless side, but the creature smashing his knee into Wheeljack's wrist at the last moment, sending the sword spinning away.

Terror overcame Wheeljack's expression, wild and evident.

At the same moment, Bulkhead rushed and Eva rushed and Dreadwing dove from the sky.

Too late. Always too late.

Chronos grinned like a lunatic and punched his fist into Wheeljack's spark and it came out the other end.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

* * *

"You're all fools!" Chronos screamed.

No. No, no, no. Starscream swayed and tried to pick himself up. Fell onto his face. His wings felt as if they were on fire.

Wheeljack's frame hit the ground, spark extinguished. Optics lifeless. A massive, smoking hole, deeper and wider than the one Starscream had plowed through Cliffjumper.

_This can't be real._

_This is a dream._

The mech that had housed Starscream during his time of need was gone.

Flash! Gone.

_Dead._

And now Bulkhead was screaming and Chronos was moving. He smashed his mace against the ground. The impact launched Bulkhead through the air and knocked Eva into a crate, where she slumped, unmoving. Optimus was knocked flat, and then quickly overcome by Chronos.

"Prime!"

Starscream spat out energon, a mouthful of it. Then he discovered the jagged piece of bulldozer engine thrust through his back.

Chronos's horse leaped. The wounded beast was determined as its master bashed the end of the mace against Optimus Prime's helm, knocking him comatose, and then hauled the mech over his shoulder before leaping onto the horse.

In the haze of explosions and agony, Starscream, crippled to the point of death and fading from the loss of energon, watched as the demon and his beast took Optimus Prime away.


	23. Rise

"Wheeljack! Jackie! No, no, no, no!" Bulkhead was screaming and Eva was screaming, coughing, sheathing her weapon.

Wheeljack's body lay, smoking.

So small. So suddenly very, very small.

Starscream stared with horrified fascination. Energon leaked from his wound. His glazed optics followed the thick trail of bubbly liquid that seeped down his side, pooling beneath his legs. His foot twitched and he felt the ground shake as Bulkhead thundered over, crawling, practically, towards the body – corpse – of his friends, splashing through his fluids.

The pressure suddenly disappeared. A sharp eruption of agony, and then bliss in the form of Eva's face looking down upon him, blurry, but unmistakably hers.

She touched his face gently and whispered, "It's going to be alright."

Starscream gaped, energon leaking from his parted lip plates.

"Shhh," Eva whispered, her eyes rimmed with tears. In the background, Bulkhead's horrible, horrible wails had increased. "Sleep. Sleep."

Starscream slept.

* * *

He awoke to Eva's soft lip plates against his.

Instinctively, his talons curled around her arm, pulling her closer.

Agony!

Tenfold, right in the center of his back. He gasped and arched, talons shrieking against hard metal. Warning signs exploded across his vision and he roared.

"Starscream!"

A hand pressed against his chest, easing him back down. Eva's curved lip plates brushed against his ear, whispering, cooing words of comfort.

"Starscream," she murmured. "Calm down."

"He's dead!"

"I know."

"He died," Starscream's intakes faltered, and he grunted in pain, squeezing the edges of the berth beneath him. "Wheeljack's gone."

"I know, baby," Eva stroked his cheek and Starscream, vision blurry, held her.

Held her until they both began to cry.

* * *

"Fire is a very good distraction, Prime."

The fire was alit. Jasper, in the distance, was alit with light. Optimus could hear the screams.

Hear the terror. All there, raw and unaltered. As if it had been waiting for him, all along.

Waiting the watch him _fail_.

"That sword-swinging pest is gone," Chronos tugged the reins and his hose whined, clopping through the dirt. Optimus was jarred repeatedly, over and over. Legs aching. He'd been folded over like paper and tossed across the horse with the devilish grin and dripping, shark-like teeth.

"I'm going to destroy your world, Prime," Chronos said conversationally. "I'm going to start with your defenses."

They stopped at a ridge. Chronos shoved away branches, and there they stood, overlooking a ravine. The same ravine where had made his stand as leader of the Decepticon's.

The same ravine where said mech had demanded that the great Skyquake bow before him. Starscream. Stupid, arrogant Starscream. And how had he turned out?

How had they all turned out?

Howard was still alive – the Devil, Howard, was still alive. And Optimus, the great and powerful Optimus Prime had the sudden urge to double over and weep.

He'd had that feeling before. Many, many times. But for some reason it was bubbling to the surface; the anger, the despair. The _loss_. The trials and terrors he'd endured…it was all too much…too, too much!

Prime squeezed out a lone tear and watched it fall, tainting the grass blue.

Chronos approached a house. A little cottage seated on the ridge. A beautiful view, really, overlooking the ravine. Lights flickered.

Father Time lit the home on fire. Inside, the people burned and screamed. A child howled in pain and terror.

"Stop!" Prime shouted – no, _commanded_. He was surprised at how strong his voice sounded, how loud. How…_leaderly_.

It was like him…but unlike him. Prime lion spark was still beating, but his spirit…it was…diminished. _Fading_.

Optimus lifted his head and met the devilish eyes of Chronos. Flames reflected off the lizard-eyes, yellow orbs blinking.

"You're no better…" Prime drawled, "Than Megatron."

He heard the snap of wood. Fire roared and embers soared towards the sky, touching the moon.

"Megatron is weak. You are weak. I am a god, Prime. A _god_," Chronos leaned close, his tongue questing, running sticky saliva across Prime's cheek. "Your kind worship Primus and Unicron. I was worshiped on my own planet. The Quintesson's, the Olympian's, my brethren," Chronos bared his fangs and leaned in closer, his snout brushing against Prime's helm. "You are the equivalent of cockroaches, Optimus Prime."

"And the humans?"

Chronos leaned back and smirked. "They are the spawn of my kind, created by Prometheus. A terrible curse, really, a terrible curse, for they are far from perfect."

"And you're not?"

"I am a god."

"God's aren't perfect," Prime spat, disgusted by his own attitude. "Neither am I."

Chronos yanked the reins and his horse thundered forward. Silence descended upon them both, a heavy blanket. Recharge began to threaten Prime, a creeping nuisance in the back of his processors.

"Do you know the story of Prometheus, Optimus Prime?"

Processors busied themselves searching the web, scrolling through files. _Prometheus, Prometheus, Prometheus_. The name sounded so familiar…

"He created the human race and was punished.

"I am aware."

"Don't lie," Chronos growled. "He was a great Titan turned thief. He taught humanity fire. He is the…_champion_," the lizard shook his head, armor rattling. Wicked claws curved around the thick reins in anger. "The champion…that fool. However his theft did not go unpunished."

Prime's intakes jerked as the horse leaped clear over a small groove in the dirt.

"He was chained to a rock on a distant planet, and every day, an eagle – sent by my dear son – would descend from the sky and feed on his liver," Chronos giggled like an exited child. "It was glorious and gruesome and it continued for eons. Still continuing now, I suppose, unless he was rescued."

"What do you have planned for me, Chronos?"

The beast threw back his head and bellowed his laughter.

"Something similar," he cackled. "Something very similar. Go ahead and plea, Optimus Prime. Go ahead and say a prayer, for your demise shall be appalling!"

Prime's eyes flashed.

Never lose hope. He couldn't. For Ratchet and Arcee and Bumblebee and Bulkhead. For Jack and Miko and Raf. For June and Fowler.

For Wheeljack. Poor, poor Wheeljack. A wrecker who went out wrecking.

"I am Optimus Prime. I do not beg."


	24. Crazed

**Short chapter - we're nearing the climax of this fic. **

**Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

June sat atop the silo, breathing in the fresh air. Her lungs ached. Fowler, on his way over, had been kind enough to bring her new clothes. She'd changed in a corner without second thought – the man had been kind enough to turn away.

At this point, she really didn't care. She'd already been violated enough.

"How are you holding up, Miss Darby?"

"June."

"Right, sorry. June."

Something flickered behind June's dark eyes. Something foreign. She could see Fowler adjusting his tie, trying to look professional but failing as his helicopter roared away.

"I'm fine," she lied. "Perfectly fine. My body isn't on fire anymore," she giggled. It was unnerving.

"You need to pull yourself together," Fowler said softly, walking over to kneel beside the woman. "We don't need Jack seeing you like this. First a doctor, then a therapist."

"I don't need therapy."

"You're traumatized."

Rage suddenly flared inside June. She tilted her head back, breathing through her nose, trying not to look the man in the face. She wouldn't be able to help herself, if she did. She'd attack. Tear the skin from his body –

"June?"

"I'm not traumatized," she snapped. "I'm confused. Angry. I'm back here with the Autobots and I…I don't know what to do. Don't you understand, Fowler? I have _nothing_," she pulled her legs up against herself. "Howard had me…had Raf and I…he hurt me and it still hurts now. Then it was all over. I'm back to being June Darby, single mother."

Fowler gently touched her shoulder. June shrugged it away. She felt like a child.

At this point, she didn't really care. She didn't care about a lot of things, anymore.

"If we win this fight," she said hoarsely, "I can never go back. I can't take care of Jack with all this on my conscience. I just can't…"

She broke down, suddenly. All the weight. All the pain. Every single worry since discovering Jack's involvement with the Autobots, from being possessed by the mindeaters, from being captured by Howard – it all came back.

She sobbed. Cried to hard that Fowler had to wrap his arms around her and hold her.

Cried so hard that she choked on her own tears.

"It'll be alright," Fowler said. Lied, really.

June had to do something.

It hit her, then. Full force. She ceased her sobbing and closed her eyes.

Howard had to die. Maybe…maybe then she could lay her soul at rest. Maybe then she could die.

A mother's instinct. Something as inhuman and satanic as Howard Darby just _could not_ exist the world alongside her only son.

June Darby began crying and smiling at the same time.

* * *

"Prime is gone. Wheeljack is dead. Chronos is still on the prowl," Fowler clasped his hands together, gnawing on his lower lip. Agitated. Angry. Though he kept his composure, Fowler was clearly pondering over the effectiveness of his own job.

Ratchet and Knockout were both darting from mech to mech, checking injuries. Dreadwing lay off to the side, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee had retreated into the silo without a word.

Starscream lay, audio receptors picking up the conversation. Eva sat next to him, face a grim mask. Her servo gently stroked Starscream's cheek, and he relished the feeling.

"We don't have a leader," Eva spoke up.

"For the time being, _I_ am in charge," Ratchet replied, groaning as he stood to his full height. "Although it won't do us much good. I am not as experience in battle as Prime or, say, Arcee."

You were Prime's first choice."

Ratchet dipped his head and, for once, did not reply.

"That freak has him," Arcee continued. "That monster. We can't just sit back and let him do this!"

"You saw what happened last time, two-wheeler," Starscream rasped. "I got a bulldozer in my back because of him."

Fowler narrowed his eyes. His distrust of Starscream, Knockout, and the other stowaway Decepticon's was palpable, though he lacked similar feeling for Eva. In fact, every Autobot and human lacked some sort of opinion regarding the girl. She was just another…girl. Human. In a world where it was all about sides, a girl with no side was nothing.

Starscream reached up and touched her wings. She chuckled, and Starscream felt the sudden urge to stand and drag her into the closet once again. Pleasuring her had been phenomenal; a perfect getaway from all this Father Time, Greek god madness.

"We need more men," Eva murmured. She met Fowler's dark eyes. "We're not just going up against Chronos, guys. Eight of us – seven if you count of Ratchet, six when you count out Knockout - going up against Megatron and the rest of the Decepticon forces?"

"We've done that before."

"Now they have Howard. Howard Darby and his mindeaters. One hit from those and we're done."

Off to the side, a silent, motionless Jack Darby suddenly twitched.

"Maybe we should just give up."

"Shut up," Eva snapped. Knockout slumped away into the shadows. "If I die, I'm going to die fighting."

Fowler crossed his arms and sighed. His gaze was focused mostly on Starscream and Eva, though it wandered, occasionally. Each mech and femme seemed tired. Worn.

None of them could take it anymore.

They'd lost Wheeljack. Soundwave.

Who else?

"I may have an idea," Fowler said slowly. "But it's a stupid idea. A dangerous idea. We're bringing more people into the fray…" he paused and exhaled sharply. "More men to die."

"Do it," Eva said firmly.

"Hear me out," Fowler raised a hand in a mollifying gesture. "Just…hear me out."

"This better be worth it."

Fowler's lips curved into a smile as he spoke. The plan consisted of two words and an action. As well as a title that caused Starscream's energon to run cold.

"Find M.E.C.H."

Starscream's content little universe slid away.

"_Now_."


	25. Eagleman

"Are you sure you can do this?" Starscream cupped Eva's face, pressing his forehead against hers. His words were soft, murmured. Arcee and Bulkhead and everyone else didn't need to hear. He'd managed to pull himself from the medical bay, much to Ratchet's resentment, and climb atop the silo.

He realized that he had the location of the Autobot base right on the tips of his talons, but he didn't care. All of that, the caring, the constant smarm towards Megatron, was all gone. Starscream was…_Starscream_. All those millennium didn't matter anymore.

Eva gently placed a hand on his chassis, easing him away. She peered into his crimson eyes, lenses flashing, before nodding. Then she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder.

"My dad won't do anything to me," she whispered, "Especially when he sees me like this."

"You'll have Fowler with you," Starscream added.

"What if he says no?"

Both Cybertronian's turned. It was June, sitting next to Fowler's helicopter. Dark rings lined her eyes and she looked gaunt. Her skin had taken on a pale sheen, and her hair had lost its luster.

"He won't," Eva said confidently. "He can't. I'll make sure he can't. He's never denied me in my time of need, especially after mom–" she choked back a sudden sob and ducked her head. "Even after mom died."

Starscream leaned over and kissed her once more. Only Arcee turned away, hands clenched into fists, winglets fluttering wildly.

Eva transformed. Flawless. Fowler climbed into the cockpit, casting a lingering glance in June's direction, before being partly obscured by the thick glass as it fell around him, closing him in.

Then they were gone. Both of them.

Starscream turned away, watching as Bulkhead, face set into a permanent scowl, crawled back inside the silo. Bumblebee and Knockout and June and everyone else followed behind, leaving Arcee standing with her back turned.

Silence. Starscream sucked in a breath and glanced towards Jasper. Smoke was curling from buildings, sirens were screaming in the distance. Still trying to cope with Chronos's previous attack.

"Two-wheeler," Starscream drawled, lacing his fingers together and twisting them behind his back. His wings rose and his shoulders hunched.

"Save it," she said firmly.

"I hope all transgressions can be forgiven–"

"What?" Arcee spun. "What? Are you serious?"

"I–"

"No. No. When this is all over, I don't want to see you or your girlfriend again, alright? The Autobots don't need you," she bared her teeth. "Not after all the pain you've caused us."

"All the pain I've caused _you_," Starscream raised a talon, stepping closer. His expression was a mixture of sincerity and scorn. He couldn't choose which one to primarily convey. "Did Cliffjumper mean as much to you as Eva does to me?"

Air hissed from between Arcee's dental plating. Now it was her turn to step back, albeit, almost in fear.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" Starscream chuckled. "I think yes. I think you did care for him as I care for Eva, and if that is the case…I…"

He paused.

"Cat got your glossa?" Arcee challenged.

"I… I don't know what to say," Starscream dipped his head in shame. "I don't know what to say. Yes, I killed Cliffjumper, no, I am not sorry," he raised his head, crimson optics gleaming. "I did what I had to do. I did what any soldier would do."

Arcee didn't respond.

"Tell me," he continued, "if Prime were to disappear, and you were to operate without his judgment, what would you have done? You Autobots are not infallible. _Prime_ is not infallible. The Autobot's as a whole have offlined just as many Decepticon's as my kind have Autobots. Do not think that the causalities of this war were one-sided."

"You could have kept him as a prisoner."

"And you would have rescued him. Disposing of him was the only option. We couldn't afford it at the time. The Decepticon's, I mean," Starscream brushed past Arcee. He paused. His wings bristled as yet another point struck him, one that overpowered his senses and caused him to bare his own teeth and turn on Arcee. "I lost Eva once, do you understand? I love her more than I love myself and if I were to lose her again…how much did you love Cliffjumper?"

"Enough to get by," she huffed and glanced away. "Just enough."

Starscream met her optics. "Enough isn't enough until its too late, two-wheeler. I can promise you that."

* * *

He was dying. Optimus Prime was dying.

Chronos's horse stomped the grass, sending up a plume of dust and dirt that clogged his intakes. Snot dripped from the charger's nostrils, splattering against the ground.

"Tighter," Chronos whispered silkily. "_Tighter_."

Prime squirmed. The binds sliced past his wrists. The stone beneath him was carving indentions into his armor, drawing little flecks of energon.

They were in a ravine. The _Nemesis _cast a shadow on the area, blocking out the sun. A dozen Vehicon's had dropped from above, led by Megatron.

Megatron's optics were a milky white and he walked as if he were a zombie, slow, his weight carrying him forward.

Chronos smashed his mace against the ground, embedding it into the dirt. Armor rattling, he trudged over to Barghest and Cerberus who stood, foaming at the mouth. Their eyes were trained on Optimus.

"Not yet," Chronos said. Then he twisted his neck at an impossible angle to regard Optimus. "A shame you are not like Prometheus – your limbs to not grow back."

Optimus squirmed and writhed and spat hatred at Chronos, who was beginning to unclasp his dented, scratched armor. Chest plates fell away, rattling against stone.

The eagle stretched across his humanoid, scale-covered chest was _moving_.

It was a drawing, Prime told himself. A drawing. Certainly not something that could peel away from flesh, wings extending, beak snapping. Its talons extended, raking against Chronos.

The lizard stood, bored and brute. His tails ran back and forth across the sand.

Megatron stood, motionless with his Vehicon's.

The eagle detached itself from Chronos and the beast regained his armor. Chronos then began to coo softly, the mangy, massive bird with the bloodshot eyes snapping at open air.

Then it spotted Prime.

"My son's pet," Chronos cooed. "Zeus was always fond of them. He'll be absolutely _riled _when he finds that I've stolen it."

"You're insane!" Prime shouted.

"I am a visionary," Chronos flung the bird upward. The eagle's wings caught the air and it drifted. "I _visualize, _as I am right now, watching as your comrades find you mutilated and bloody."

The eagle dove, suddenly. Faster than light. Prime arched his back and tried to wriggle away.

The bird ate at Prime's insides as if they were _nothing_.

Optimus tried not to scream. Failed.

Always failing.

"I have things to attend to," Chronos grasped his mace and turned his back to Prime. Wires coated in energon leaked from the eagle's beak. Prime's processors were rattling, warning signs screaming. He shut off his pain receptors as the eagle tore another strip from inside his tanks.

"Stop this and fight me!" Optimus raged. "Untie me and battle me like a true warrior!"

"Don't have the time," Chronos waved a hand airily. "Darby is almost finished with the second batch of mindeaters. Hard working, that human is."

"He's insane, like you."

"He is insane, yes, but he is necessary. You are not. You are a hindrance and nothing more."

"I'll destroy you," Prime said, each word labored. He glanced down at the feeding eagle and almost purged his tanks. "I. Will. End. You."

"You have to get out, first."

Optimus pulled with what little strength he had left, and ended up sinking back against the rock. Chronos was disappearing, fading as his processors took control, locking him in stasis.

He saw Chronos speak briefly to Megatron.

Optimus Prime's optics blinked out.


	26. Hitman

"So your plan is to be a sneak?"

"Yes."

"Swoop in and grab Prime, then swoop out?" Starscream sneered. "Oh Dreadwing, I can see why Megatron chose you to replace me as his second-in-command."

Dreadwing swept closer, wingspan nearly brushing against Starscream's. The Seeker, uncomfortable with the close proximity, jerked away and dove lower, streaking through the clouds.

From this height, the _Nemesis_ was a straight line across a deep indentation on the ground. Chronos and his charge were just a dot. Prime, and even smaller dot, chained and tethered to a rock.

Starscream's vision exceeded that of any other creature on Earth. He zoomed in, watching as Chronos and his charger leaped from the _Nemesis_ and landed with a thud next to Prime. The cliff trembled upon impact.

"Lower," Dreadwing urged quietly, all business. All warrior.

Starscream was not.

"That Chronos can sense when he's being watched," Starscream snarled. "The fool chose not to mask his signal – detecting him was easy, for once."

"He wants us to go to him," Dreadwing replied bitterly.

"What else are we supposed to do? Stand and wait? Fly away?"

"The Decepticon's could. We have no ties here."

Starscream streaked to the side, directly beside Dreadwing. Dew clung to the exterior of their frames, cold and fresh from the clouds. A light inside Starscream's cockpit flashed, a sure sign of anger.

"I'm not leaving Eva and you know that."

"She is Cybertronian now. She can fly."

"She wouldn't leave her planet," Starscream said firmly. "I know it. She'd choose Earth over me. And I can't choose anything else over her."

"She has you wrapped around her servo, Starscream," Dreadwing said softly.

"Whatever."

Dreadwing dove, suddenly. A deep spiral that caused him to shoot through the clouds. Starscream cursed and followed behind, following behind as Dreadwing leveled himself and flew at a leisurely pace. They cleared the ravine and the _Nemesis _and shot towards even ground, soaring over the helms of Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Knockout.

They landed, skidding. Then Starscream turned and noticed that the soldiers, their gang, their pathetic little gang of six wouldn't stand a chance against Chronos.

"We've tried before," he murmured, walking towards Bulkhead with his arms clasped behind his back. Oh, how he wanted Eva to hurry. It had been a day already. She knew the location of every M.E.C.H base in the United States; hopefully her father, who'd no doubt been tearing the earth apart looking for her, would answer whatever calls she broadcasted across the airwaves.

He had to. The planet depended on it.

Either that or he'd just shoot her dead for what she had become. Or dissect her.

It was a possibility that caused Starscream to shiver. His little Eva, strapped to a table, being sawed apart by her own father. _His _Eva…_his _mate.

"The plan?" Starscream asked Arcee. The femme crossed her arms and held her helm high, trotting over towards the edge of the ravine. She glanced down, calculated the angle, and said, "We can't wait this out forever. I don't know what Chronos has planned, but it's big."

"Kill Prime and then come after us himself," Knockout replied acidly. He swung his energon prod, twirled it like a baton, appearing bored. But Starscream could see the trepidation hidden in his optics. "It's a fools plan, but for someone like Chronos, it's a working plan."

"We can't wait for Eva any longer," Bulkhead agreed.

"So we'll hop to our deaths before," Starscream replied. "Excellent. I was getting tired of our war, anyway. Autobots versus Decepticons. What a drag."

* * *

"_Aaaaahhhh_!"

The bird dove again. Began to dig at the gauze on Prime's stomach, tearing it away, pecking, pecking, pecking.

"Get off me!"

"Take it, Prime!" Chronos howled. "Take it like a man!"

The bird flapped its wings. Prime's back arched against the rock, armor scraping, the pain flaking away and settling around him. He kicked at nothing.

Chronos was there, suddenly. Kneeling next to him. The bird had retreated and was circling around.

Chronos grabbed Prime face with his claws, squeezing. The massive lizard head, yellow eyes blinking, appeared directly before him.

"I'm enjoying this," he cooed. "I'm enjoying this, and so should you."

Prime squirmed and tried to jerk his head away, but Chronos held him firm. Then he ducked his head and nuzzled Prime's stomach.

His tongue shot out to lap up the dripping energon cascading down his hips. The touch was foreign, intimate. Like something lovers would do.

"Get away from me," Prime whispered.

"Beg."

"Never."

"_Beg_," Chronos squeezed, talons digging past Prime's facial plating. "_Beg for me_!"

Prime yanked his head away and Chronos's talons scratched several long gashes across his face, nearly obscuring one optic. The lizard rose, armor glistening with energon, and nailed Prime in the chest with a kick so powerful that the rock beneath him _cracked._

Prime felt agony, and then nothing.

"You have failed, Prime," Chronos whispered, leaning down to lick the side of Optimus Prime's face, tasting the seeping fluid. "You have failed, and you will die."

* * *

Dreadwing saw the bird first.

Chronos had retreated to the _Nemesis_. Back reporting to that satanic freak, Howard Darby.

"It's an eagle," Starscream snapped, searching for an opening. Prime lay chained, unmoving. "Just an eagle."

A voice in his head screamed that something was wrong. The bird's eyes seemed to glow. It was huge, matching Starscream's speed. Its wings were primed and it looked _tamed_, way to clean and put together.

Before Starscream could comment, the eagle dipped and disappeared beneath the clouds.

"There," Starscream said, letting his voice travel across the link to Dreadwing. The larger mech gave a grunt of apprehension and dropped out of the sky.

Arcee, Bulkhead and the rest were stationed around the ravine, invisible to Chronos and the rest.

"We can always retreat," he said to Dreadwing.

The mech didn't hear him.

* * *

Something tugged at Prime's restraints.

He glanced up.

"Get up," Dreadwing hissed. "Now. _Now!_"

Optimus rotated his aching wrists and pulled, but the chains would not let up. They were too tight, too thick. Dreadwing cursed and stepped back, drawing his gun.

He leveled, aimed, and fired. The blast echoed around the ravine.

"That was stupid," Dreadwing said after, "I know," he freed Prime's left wrist, and began to work on the legs. The mechs fingers spun deftly, breaking links, sawing past knots. Soon, both Prime's legs were alive and unshackled.

The agony in his stomach had subsided, but it was still there. A roaring lion behind a massive frame.

"I am in your debt," Optimus murmured to Dreadwing. The mech did not reply – instead he worked faster.

Optimus stood and then knelt. One hand helping Dreadwing.

"Everyone is here," Dreadwing finally said. "Bumblebee, Knockout, Bulkhead and that two-wheeler. Starscream is circling above. We sent that human-Cybertronian girl to get extra support."

"Fowler's men?"

Dreadwing glanced up, shaking his helm. "No. The human organization known as M.E.C.H. The girl is acquainted with their leader."

Optimus nodded, watching as Dreadwing–"

Dreadwing sputtered. Stopped.

Prime heard the mace before he saw it. A whistle in the air. A streak, then impact.

Dreadwing sputtered. Dreadwing, the honorable Dreadwing who had come to Earth in search of his dead brother. Dreadwing, the only Decepticon Optimus had ever met who possessed a sense of honor.

He had a mace embedded deep in his back, buried all the way to the hilt.

Dreadwing coughed, spat energon all over Prime. Yanked at the last chain, freeing Optimus.

Then he slumped and died.

Prime was free! He was free and Chronos was thundering towards him on his charger. Drones screamed down from the _Nemesis_. Megatron leaped from afar.

Optimus Prime drew his swords and bellowed something he'd never imagined he'd bellow.

"_Autobots, attack and kill Chronos! Kill him! Kill him_!"


	27. Fearless

"This world does not deserve your sacrifice, Prime. It has failed as a planet. You have failed as its protector, and in time, your adversaries, the Decepticons, will have failed as its rulers. Your species, as well as the human race, will not make it past judgment day. Rest assured that I will destroy the remnants however I see fit."

Optimus Prime stared at Chronos, who sat upon his charger, and snarled.

* * *

"Slag," Starscream dipped low. "Slag, slag, slag that imbecile! I told you to stay put – I _told _you!"

He angled his wings and shot down, a rocket in the sky. Vehicon's buzzed, weapons blazing as they spotted the Autobots speeding along the edge of the ravine.

Down below, Optimus Prime raised his sword and met Megatron head on, leaving Chronos and his charger on the outskirts of the fray, observing, like some curious schoolteacher. He listened to the grunts and cries as the two mechs met, bruising connections. Then, as the battle veered away, he began to inch towards his mace.

Rage overcame Starscream, just as he was beginning to contemplate fleeing, finding Eva. Leaving the planet.

_How dare him._

How. Dare. Chronos.

Starscream hadn't even liked Dreadwing much. But now he was gone, a smoking heap with a mace sticking from his back, and by Primus, Starscream wasn't going to let Chronos get anywhere near it.

Starscream fired towards Chronos. The creature yanked the reins on his charger, causing it to leap to the side.

He swiped at Starscream's wing, missed. Starscream circled up and executed yet another round of shots that tore through Chronos's armor, ripped it to pieces, but it didn't matter for the beast was already healing.

"Frag."

Starscream glanced to the side – Arcee was in a tight tangle with Cerberus and Barghest, using the cliff face as an advantage. She leaped and she flipped, fired shots that splintered the ground. The hounds reacted as their fur singed – it slowed them down, for they lacked the healing ability their master possessed – and caused them to falter, slink back before lunging again.

Bumblebee, Knockout and Bulkhead dealt with the Vehicon's, and the air was stiff with the stench of gunfire, spilt fluid.

And, of course, a battle between two titans, Megatron and Optimus, raged.

_Eva, where are you? Eva, where are you?_

_Come on now._

_Quickly, before I perish without you._

He shot upward, transformed, and skidded across the cliff, where he found a handhold and, well, _held_, staring down at Chronos.

"Don't be a coward, Starscream," Chronos yanked his mace free from Dreadwing's body, raising it in the air. "Come and fight me like a warrior!"

He was no warrior. But he didn't say it.

Chronos flung the mace and Starscream squealed, rolled. The weapons ruptured the cliff, sending shards of stone raining upon him. His talons slipped and he skidded, running deep indentions in the crumbling rock.

He lost his footing and plummeted transforming, but Chronos caught his leg and yanked him down.

Starscream flew, transformed midway, unable to see or distinguish where he was, what he was doing…

He hit the ground with a painstaking thud.

"_Frag_!"

"Language, Starscream. I understand that in death, emotions may run high…" Chronos swung his mace, watching Starscream as he rearranged his parts, stumbled to his feet.

Starscream aimed a missile and fired Chronos dodged and the projectile destroyed a slab of rock several meters away. A wall of dust rose, obscuring the battles, separating them – Chronos and Starscream – from the others.

Only them.

So Starscream, worn and weary, lifted his head and asked, "_Why_?"

"Why?

"Because your race failed. All races failed. I am a judge, jury, and executioner. I am the prosecutor of the universe," Chronos licked his lips, lizard tongue smacking. "And I have returned for judgment day."

"You want to exterminate us. All of us. _Why_?"

"Because your time in this world has come to an end."

"It's certainly not your place…"

"_Not my place_?" Chronos echoed, swinging his mace, honeyed voice cooing. "Not my place. Says a mech driven by greed, pride. Says a mech who has committed heinous crimes. Are you saying that, in the end, only your species can claim Earth and judge?"

Starscream was speechless, though not out of fear. Chronos was right.

Who was he to judge, considering all he'd done in the past? He was destined for the Pit, he knew, but _still_…

Chronos bared his teeth, allowing his mace to thud against the ground. In the distance, Starscream heard the yelps of dogs, the shouts of Autobots, but in his mind?

His own screams.

He was going to die.

A screech of tires. A truck veered from the fog and smashed against Chronos's legs, knocking them out from under him. The creature toppled, screaming, and the vehicle skidded across the dirt.

A jet streaked above.

"Eva!" Starscream backtracked, and leaped into the air.

Starscream transformed as Eva tore up the ground, peppering Chronos with bullets. The creatures face exploded, black blood painting the rocks. He raised a useless hand.

It had healed, and Starscream had disappeared to join Eva.

"Dad pulled through," Eva said, shifting to bipedal mode several meters, out of Chronos's range. As soon as Starscream joined him, she launched herself into his arms, kissing his lip plates.

"Dad complied," Eva whispered, before pointing to the approaching vehicle. It slid to an audible stop, and the doors popped open.

Silas smirked and said, "So _this _is what you've become."

Starscream's lip plates pulled back over his teeth, and he glared at Silas, optics full of hatred. Then he swept Eva close and kissed her helm, right before her father.

A quirk of the eyebrow was all Silas managed, and he shot Starscream the universal, "_we'll talk about this later,"_ look, before storming back into his vehicle.

Once again, the air was filled with gunfire, Vehicon's and bullets falling upon them like rain.

"Killin Chronos is our only hope," Starscream whispered, "for some sort of victory. We can't go into this…blind. We need a _strategy_."

"We need you, Starscream," Eva tapped the side of his helm. "We need you and your devious, Decepticon mind."

* * *

"Send me in."

"No."

June stared at Fowler, noticed his rumpled suit and messy hair. She hadn't heard Eva drop him off – then again she'd been too busy watching Ratchet scan the monitors, update her on the battle.

"I'm the only one that can stop him."

"No," Fowler rose, smoothing his tie. "You're a civilian –"

"I'm his _wife_! Jack tried to talk some sense into him once, and now…now it's _my_ turn. One last chance so the Autobots won't have to break their no-killing-humans rule, just one. I want to be there to witness it, assist. Maybe talk some sense into him."

Fowler stared at June long and hard, arms crossed over his chest.

"You and I both know that your husband is gone."

"You might, but I don't. I…don't. God, Fowler, if we have to put him down ourselves, then so be it. I can't live knowing that someone like him is out there…someone Jack and I used to love. As my _friend_," June stressed the word, "I want you to help me."

"June…"

"Don't start. I'm going. You can call in your boys and arrest me after, but I'm going."

She turned. Ratchet had been watching, listening, and now his optics were drifting to the groundbridge.

One hand on the lever.

"The Nemesis is stationary," he said. "I already had clear coordinates, courtesy of Starscream, right near the medical bay where Howard works. He's bound to be in there."

June gulped and nodded, feeling Fowler's hand brush against her.

She glanced away. Miko, Rafael, and Jack were dozing on the couch.

She squeezed out a tear and murmured, "This is for you, Jack."

Fowler saw the tears and comprehended them as tears of fear. June saw them as tears of sadness, yet at the same time, tears of joy.

Death was coming. And it looked _sweet_.


	28. Forever

Starscream batted away a Vehicon, leaped, and transformed. His thrusters kicked in and sent another Vehicon flying into Eva's open arms.

She snapped its neck, claws tearing through metal, before tossing him to the side.

Chronos charged through Vehicon's and Autobots and humans, mace swooping low. The charger's hooves missed Silas's vehicle by inches, and the human man had to scurry away, ducking and covering behind foliage and rocks.

The ravine had become a warzone.

"We're outnumbered," Eva shouted, streaking past Starscream before diving, transforming and landing atop a Vehicon. With a twist, she tore off its head, falling forward into a roll. She met another Vehicon, ducked beneath its punch and raked her claws into its side.

Energon was spilled, paining the dirt blue.

Starscream didn't reply – instead he fired at Chronos, twisting his body so to avoid his sweeping mace. The horse reared and whined, high-pitched with anguish. Then it thundered forward, towards Eva.

She was distracted, grappling with a Vehicon.

Starscream bellowed and dropped, transforming in midair. He smashed into Chronos like a wrecking ball, sending them both careening to the side.

"Go!"

The horse kept charging.

"Ev–" Starscream gasped when a claw curled around his throat and a fist planted itself, invisible with speed, into his side.

Wires tore. Metal as dented.

"Slag!"

Chronos slammed Starscream against the cliff wall, snarling. Then the beast, muzzle dripping with saliva, spun and leveled Starscream with the ground.

"You can't win," he began to walk, dragging Starscream with him.

Starscream felt the strength ebbing away, bit by bit. He saw Optimus, blurry, locked with Megatron. Arcee battling Cerberus and Barghest. Bulkhead and Bumblebee and Knockout, bruised and covered in energon, whirling like tops through layers and layers of Vehicon's.

And Eva, having dodged the horse.

Starscream watched as she spun, hidden sword flying.

And with a bellow, she sliced through the horse's head. The head spun, spewing black blood.

"_No! No, no!_" Chronos howled, lifting Starscream to his feet. "You cannot win!"

"Watch me."

* * *

June's feet hit the Nemesis floor before Fowler's. She took off, then, darting down the dank, murky hallway that reeked so much of death and destruction…

She had to find him.

"June," Fowler called, eyes widening as he realized her motives. "Miss Darby, where are you going?"

June ignored him, flattening herself against the wall as a trio of Vehicon' stalked past, feet dragging like zombies. She blew out air and followed them, keeping low to the ground as they made their way towards a set of doors.

The Vehicon's stopped. The doors slid open, and the Vehicon's, June right on their heels, stepped inside.

June followed, casting a single glance back. Fowler was laboring, running as quickly as his legs would carry him. Fast, but not fast enough. June saw his lips part, air beginning to form within him, stretching, eyes swimming.

Then the door slid shut, leaving June with the Devil.

This was hell.

"June, baby!" Howard sat, cross legged, a pair of crutches abandoned off to the side. His one good eye blinked as he pulled off the gloves. "Haven't seen you in a while – how are your feet? Where I, you know, sliced them."

The Vehicon's were sitting in the corner, optics glassy white. Unmoving.

"You know why I'm here."

"You're going to kill me," Howard's face fell, and he stood, hobbling towards her. "You want me dead and gone so you and Jacky can live happily ever after…you…you want me dead and gone so you won't have to live with the guilt. Well, then, go ahead. Show me your weapon."

June raised her bare hands.

"Strangle me, beat me. I'll never leave you."

Tears prickles along the edges of June's eyes. Howard stopped, and then, with strong hands, grabbed her face on either side.

He leaned close.

"I never loved you. I was sent here by Chronos, taken from my own time period, plucked and placed _here_," Howard rolled his eyes, before giggling. "Do you know how difficult it is, being ahead? I come from the year 2300. Technology is at its prime. Chronos chose me because I was at the top of my field, even as a sixteen year old."

"You've been this way since you were…sixteen? Insane?" June struggled, but his grip did not falter.

"I'm very good at hiding it. I'm insane, June, I know it. Something's _wrong_ with me," Howard tilted his head, grinning. "It's Chronos's fault, you see?"

"Then betray him."

"Oh, no. He's much more powerful than that."

June stared, aghast.

Howard kissed her, then. It was forced and disgusting and…fake. So, so fake.

She hated this man. So much hatred coiled up inside her, so much self-loathing that she'd been so _stupid_ as to marry an insane man.

"I tried to help you," June whispered.

Howard almost looked sad. "What I have can't be helped."

He pushed her away, shuffling over to a stainless steel, human-sized table littered with an array of weapons. With his back turned to June, he grabbed what looked like a simple shotgun and raised it towards the ceiling.

"Baby, I don't want to have to do this."

"I know."

June began to walk forward, legs moving, as if on their own accord.

Behind her, she heard the doors slide open. Fowler was there, shouting, waving his arms like a crazy person, over and over and June broke into a run and Howard was forced to backtrack, arms and legs shaking.

"June!"

She wasn't afraid. She'd never been afraid.

Fear was for the weak. And by God, June Darby was no longer a weakling.

Never.

Howard fired and a dazzling beam of light hit June in the chest.

* * *

Starscream twisted, talons drawing blood. Chronos bellowed and batted Starscream away. He flipped and landed on an advancing Eva.

"Frag," he mumbled.

"Starscream the warrior?" Eva chuckled, wriggling out from under her mate. "Are you sure this is how you want to go out?"

"I did contemplate over retreat…"

"Me? Retreating? Get real," Eva helped him stand, and the two of them, side-by-side, faced Chronos. "I'm not a pussy, and neither are you."

She reached out, wrapping her talons around his servo.

Chronos swung his mace, and it became a blur.

"Eva."

"Yes, Starscream?"

"Before death reaches us…I…I wanted to ask you something," Starscream picked nervously as his armor. "I believe human protocol calls for me to…ask your father first…"

Eva tensed.

"However, given the circumstances, I find it much more appropriate to approach you instead."

"_Yes_."

"W-What?"

"Yes, Starscream, I'll marry you. I'll be your spark mate. I'll do whatever you want me to do," Eva let out a breath, glancing at her partner. "I just want you to say that you love me."

"I love you."

She squeezed his hand. "I love you, too. Now, let's go ahead and get this over with…."


	29. Expire

**So, I told you that nobody would get out of this story unscathed. **

**As always, send me feedback.**

* * *

There was a hole burned right through June Darby. Right near her heart.

The hole was the size of a fist, yet it did not gush blood. It was cauterized.

Fowler _screamed_.

June kept running and hit Howard with the strength of a linebacker, sending them both sprawling. Howard's finger accidentally squeezed the trigger of the gun, and another beam missed June and seared a hole through the side of a Vehicon's head.

It toppled.

"_You. Will. Not. Win_," June grounded out, milky eyes swimming with tears, and Howard could do nothing.

He made a move to punch June, but missed. Almost let go of the gun. June caught it and, with uncontrolled strength, wrenched it from his hand, breaking his fingers in the process. She smote Howard with one fist. Blood was everywhere.

Howard's eyes widened.

June swung the gun and bashed him in the head, crimson liquid spurting from his nose and lips, and then she shoved the muzzled of the gun under Howard's chin.

Then she roared with whatever life was left in her.

"DIE!"

She squeezed the trigger and suddenly Howard Darby's head was blown from his neck.

* * *

Bulkhead smashed his fists against Cerberus's head, but the creature's grip on his leg did not falter.

He went down, all of him. His helm hit the dirt and he grunted as Cerberus lunged for his face, teeth dripping saliva onto his face, claws scratching at – no, _through_ – his armor.

The three-headed creature strained its neck, the trio of heads unable to reach their target. Bulkhead was struggling, one hand holding the dog up, the other flailing madly for some type of purchase.

He cried out for help, but Arcee was scaling the cliff above, Barghest hot on her heels. Knockout and Bumblebee were pinioned, helpless, under a pile of Vehicon's.

Optimus and Megatron's battle raged somewhere, away. Starscream and Eva were occupied, and Silas…Silas was…well, he hadn't seen where Silas and his men had went.

Maybe this was Bulkhead's last moments. Pinned underneath a dog – dogs. No Wheeljack. No…Miko…

No one.

_"Promise me, Bulkhead, that you'll be around."_

_"I promise."_

Bulkhead heaved with all his might, swung an arm around, and fired a point-blank shot from his blaster.

Cerberus's middle head evaporated. It was as if a switch had been turned off – the other heads slumped, the body fell atop Bulkhead.

He smiled.

Wreckers didn't break promises.

Ever.

* * *

"_This…is…for…Wheeljack_," Eva sliced apart Chronos's face, and blood spewed.

Starscream ran past in staged terror – well, no, part of it had to be very real terror – and slid behind a boulder as Chronos tossed Eva away and hurled his mace. The weapon spun and missed Starscream.

Eva had flipped away, landed on her back as Chronos's mace returned to him. He spun, face torn, ripped.

He swung his mace as Eva rolled away.

Starscream popped up from behind the boulder and fired a missile. Chronos tried to dodge but caught the full brunt of the blast, and his body was, very nearly, ripped apart.

Black blood fell like rain, sizzling against Eva's armor. She crawled away as Chronos worked on putting himself back together.

She slid behind the boulder, next to Starscream. Then she stalked to the side and began to fire, heavy fire coming from her own weapon.

Eight perfect holes were carved through Chronos, but he didn't care. Over the roar, Eva shouted, "Dad, now!"

M.E.C.H gunfire sounded from somewhere on the ridge, the green uniforms helping to blend with the landscape. Chronos snarled, swiping at the air as if the bullets were nothing but a small nuisance.

"Humans," he spat.

Eva glanced around.

"_Optimus_!" She bellowed over the sound of her own gun.

She saw Starscream out of the corner of her eye. He was lifting the boulder, knees knocking, legs trembling.

Eva ducked and rolled as Starscream heaved the boulder at Chronos. The lizard raised his arms and took the hit – the boulder cracked into a thousand pieces upon impact, showering him in dirt.

When the dust cleared, Chronos was still standing, the last of his injuries healing.

He tilted his head at an impossible angle, spotting a heard of M.E.C.H soldiers crouched, terrified behind a cluster of foliage. Ground level.

Silas was amongst them.

Chronos charged, swinging his mace. The humans scattered.

"Move, _move_!"

Silas dove and Chronos thundered past him, momentum carrying the creature. The mace broke bones, crushed humans, cracked their skulls like eggshells.

Silas abandoned his gun and scurried towards the cliff to rejoin his surviving men.

"I hope you do not fear death."

Eva's fists clenched. Chronos tossed the mace and followed, charging across the ravine with the save vigor and strength his charger had possessed.

Starscream stepped in front of Eva, took the hit from Chronos's mace that sent him careening away, smashed into the cliff, the mace acting as a pin. Then Chronos's hands curled around Eva's throat

He began to squeeze.

* * *

Barghest was catching up to Arcee, and she'd resulted to climbing the cliff with her hands, tossing rocks down to avert him.

The dog's claws raked through the hard surface, bushes and pebbles falling away as the beast stalked its prey, tongue lolling, eyes wild. Excited. Like it couldn't wait to taste Arcee's energon…

It leaped and locked its jaws around Arcee's shoulder, tearing through the plating. Arcee grunted and held, dangling hundreds of feet. Beneath her was a sheer drop.

The dog didn't care. It began to pull.

Arcee wriggled, tried to throw it off, but the hellhound weighed thousands of pounds…pure muscle, no fat. Its teeth were like a million, finely polished swords.

The pain was excruciating

The pain made her want to let go. _Die_.

Then she noticed a flash movement, a shadow against the cliff her forehead rested against. She twisted her neck, saw a red shape diving.

Then she saw Bulkhead, his hands cupped as he stood safely on the ground below.

Knockout hit Barghest, wrapped his legs around the screeching hellhound. Ignoring the strain on his finish, ignoring the saliva and blood that turned his paintjob a separate color, Knockout pulled.

Arcee held on for dear life.

The pressure disappeared, along with Knockout. He, Barghest, and a massive upheaval of rock fell hundreds of feet, flailing, before smashing into the dirt below. Arcee's hearing picked up the sound of bones and joints breaking, a neck breaking. A dog's neck breaking. A strangled, choking sound was all Barghest had to say before death.

She also picked up Knockout's strained plea before he, too, was dead.


	30. Endgame

**Honestly, all I can say so far is thank you for all the support this story has gotten. We have about two chapters left after this, and then we're done. **

* * *

_In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason."_

-Ernest Hemingway

* * *

June lay flat on the ground.

Bits and pieces of her husband's skull stained her shirt. The gun had slipped from her fingers.

Howard's body was a smoking, headless corpse, and nothing else.

Her battle was done.

She was done. And she felt better. She felt it inside her – she'd fought and won her own little war. And despite the smoking hole in her heart that was killing her, slowly, she felt…wonderful. Not afraid – June lacked the ability to feel fear now.

Oh, death was _so_ sweet.

"Huh," June rasped, feeling Fowler's hand touch her face. He was speaking, calling back to base for a groundbridge, reassuring June that everything was going to be alright, even though June understood that it was an empty promise.

So she thought one last thought. Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee and Ratchet. Miko, Rafael.

Jack.

_Thank you._

And then June Darby stopped thinking anything at all.

* * *

Starscream saw Knockout fall and hit the ground.

_Crunch._

Then he saw Eva struggling beneath Chronos.

So he shoved the mace from his body, ignoring the ache from his injuries.

_You're an idiot_, his mind screamed. _You're an idiot for doing this. Fall back. Run. Primus, Starscream, run._

What was that old human verse? _Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…._

Whatever.

Starscream bellowed and thundered across the ravine, wounds leaking. He leaped upon Chronos's back, dug his talons into Chronos's throat and ripped out a sinewy piece of flesh. The wound gushed blood, and the monsters grip slackened.

From far away, M.E.C.H guns began firing. Starscream saw Silas, briefly, lying behind a rock, seemingly injured, screaming orders at his soldiers to shoot, shoot, kill, kill.

_I will fear no evil…_

Starscream wrenched her hands to the side, snapped Chronos's neck back. The bone shattered. Eva managed to wriggle her way free, heels stumbling against the dirt.

Eva lunged, but Chronos gave a roar and punched Eva in the stomach.

The impact was so powerful that very nearly tore her in half.

She dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

"_You…."_ Starscream dug his talons into Chronos's eye, popping out the tendon. "_Will not win_!"

Starscream pulled and Chronos's head came with him.

Chronos's body fell, twitched, and then turned to dust. Starscream landed, lifted the great lizard head, and stared at it.

"This is _my _planet, you incompetent fragger."

Then the head crumbled away in his hands.


	31. Recover

**One more chapter after this!**

* * *

**Seven Days Later**

"Your mother died a hero, son."

Fowler patted Jack on the shoulder, tried to act tough and stifle his tears.

He failed and had to walk away, back to his truck.

"Yeah," Jack's voice was an echo of his old self, something he'd never get back. So, so much he'd never forget or get back because it was all there, embedded inside him.

Causalities? Hah. There'd been a few.

Soundwave. Wheeljack. Knockout. Dreadwing. June. Almost Eva.

Vince and Sierra were dead, too. He'd missed that service.

So was Howard.

And Penny. And that man, Arthur, someone he'd overheard Eva speak briefly about.

Jack stood beside his mother's grave, flowers in his hand, weeping because, what was a boy without his mommy or his daddy…without anything? One parent was here, buried in the ground. The funeral had been brief, attended by Raf and Miko, the Autobots, Eva and Starscream, Fowler and a few of his soldiers, and, much to Jack's amazement, Silas and a handful of green clad, M.E.C.H followers, all lurking in the background.

Fowler had spoken, Optimus had spoken, Arcee had spoken. Jack had refused to say a word. The Silas had left, had dragged a human Eva with him.

They would have some sort of…get-together for Wheeljack, Knockout, all of them. Assuming they could accommodate all the bodies.

This was his family. Fowler, Raf and Miko and a bunch of robots. Lies about his mother's death would spread through the hospital – car accident? No, no evidence. Suicide? Maybe. Murder?

Jack didn't know or care. Fowler would take care of that.

Howard was a different story. Optimus Prime himself had cremated the body, and they'd sunk Howard's ashes in a lake.

Justice.

Jack didn't hear Arcee drive up behind him because he was too busy shouting at the sky.

"God, Primus, whatever you are…whether or not you exist…please, _please_ end this war for good."

Jack fell silent, before opening his mouth once more, words softer than a breeze.

"It's just too sad."

* * *

The ravine was a mass of dead bodies, Vehicon bodies. Megatron, free from his restraints, fully conscious, surveyed it all, standing beneath the Nemesis.

He threw back his head and roared.

* * *

"Where's Eva?"

"_Silas_ took her," Starscream was pacing around the Autobot base, arms wrapped around his torso, wings perked. His eyes kept shifting towards the medical bay where Eva had been lying, just a week ago, writhing and yelling as Ratchet attempted to fix her. She'd mustered the courage to use the relic, change her back to her normal form.

Silas had been there, watching, making no attempt to soothe his daughter. As soon as Eva, naked and human, had been able to walk, he'd taken her.

Away. Hadn't told Starscream where, but come on. Starscream was _Starscream_ – nothing on Earth was safe from him.

"Are you going after her?"

Starscream's optics narrowed, and he searched Miko's face for some sort of key, a sign that she was baiting him…he found nothing. He just saw a sad, war-torn human girl with a face far too old for her.

"_Jeez_, go after your woman," Miko grinned and raised a hand. "You don't want her to be….what's that song? '_The one that got away_?'"

Starscream rolled his neck and continued to pace.

"She said that she would marry me."

The words came out in a tumble, blurted, no real thought put into the outcome. Expecting a chastising gaze, Starscream winced, daring to look at the human girl, and, worst of all, Ratchet, who was just entering the silo.

Both stopped and stared.

Then Ratchet groaned, annoyed, before gesturing to the long, metal rods gathering dust on his work table. It was the first time Starscream had a seen a genuine spark or interest or amusement in Ratchet's eyes, all directed to Starscream.

Ratchet said, "Go to her. It's not like we need these old relics, anyway."

* * *

Eva Bishop was bored.

She was human, again. She missed her Cybertronian form, though not because of the power it brought her, but because, for once, she was equal to Starscream. She could look him straight in the eye, kiss his true form…

It was a nice tool. And here she was, sitting on a bed, locked in her room.

Grounded.

Eva was an adult, over twenty-one, and she was grounded.

Bullshit.

"It's almost dinnertime," Eva called, pressing her cheek against the door. The guards outside did not reply – most likely under her father's orders. Where was he, anyway?

Oh, right, off at work, miles and miles away. He'd "be back," he'd said. He'd "return and bring justice to Eva's reckless actions."

Saving the world hadn't been reckless. Stupid, yes, but reckless was a Starscream thing, and oh, God, how Eva missed him…

Despite the fact that she was here, home, back in the house Silas – no, Leland – Eva and Margaret Bishop had shared many years ago, she didn't feel complete. Her old room still bore the evidence of a rebellious little girl, who preferred black to pink, sneakers to heels, shorts to dresses, a paradox.

But that little girl had grown in body, had matured in mind. Yeah, she was still fond of those things but…

She'd had the fate of the world tossed at her, and she fumbled with it. Starscream had helped steady it, and he _wasn't here_.

A loud bang caught her attention. Then a thud, a protest.

"Hey, hey, you can't–"

Silence.

Eva hopped from her bed, pulled the pistol from under her pillow. Yeah. Her father was _that _paranoid, but at the same time, _that_ ignorant. He'd entered the big battle late – his little girl had grown up and, like he hadn't imagined when he'd pressed the hilt of the weapon against her palm, she wasn't afraid of a barrel.

The door swung open. A M.E.C.H soldier tumbled in, shaking.

Eva lowered the weapon.

"_Primus_," the distorted voice drawled. "Humans can be persistent. This armor hardly gives me any mobility…"

He pulled off his mask and Starscream's human face stared at Eva, crimson eyes narrowed.

"What happened to you?"

Eva slid the gun across her dresser and leaped into Starscream's arms. He held her, and she kissed him.

"You know…" Starscream pulled away, only to have his lips claimed once more. He spoke between kissed, "This…isn't the welcome…I expected… but I'm not…complaining."

Eva rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"Hey, did I ever tell you…you know, that I loved you?"

Starscream chuckled. "I think you have. And I'll return the favor by saying that_ I_ love _you_," he smiled and turned to the unconscious guards, tilting his head to the side.

"Now…what to do with _them_."

* * *

They rendered all five guards unconscious, found some rope, and tied them up. Duck taped their mouths before tossing them into the Humvee, Eva locking them in and tossing the keys onto the coffee table of the enormous home.

"There's food," she said, sliding herself up onto the marble counter. "Drinks, too. Honestly, you were human for only a short amount of time…I don't think I ever introduced you to… say, Italian cuisine?"

"You're going to cook?"

"Hell no. Find something in those cabinets yourself – by Italian I meant our…honeymoon, right?"

"I thought we were already married?"

"Oh, sweetheart…" Eva glanced down, "Marriage doesn't take six seconds. Most couples don't propose as a dying declaration."

"We didn't die."

"Pfft," absently, Eva squeezed her side. It still ached, despite the fact that she'd changed forms and the damage had been reversed. "Almost. Anyway, we don't have to have some big, formal thing. In fact, we don't even need a ring. Although I would want one…" she trailed off, raising her eyebrows. "You've suffered enough because of me, Starscream."

She watched as he shook his head, closing shut a cabinet. "Never –"

"You tried to kill yourself when you found out that I had 'died.'"

"I was trying to fix my T-Cog."

"Don't lie to me. You don't_ have_ to lie to me. We're doing this your way - sparkmating, was it? It that the Cybertronian equivalent of marriage?"

Starscream dipped his head and nodded. Then he came to rest against the counter, allowing Eva to wrap her legs around his waist, lace her fingers together and capture the back of his neck.

"My dad comes home tomorrow night. We have until then…we book tomorrow afternoon. You have the relics, right?"

"Outside, hidden."

"Italy it is, then. Verona, Milan, Rome. Then France. All of Europe. Every continent, every country, every island…you're going to see the world – _our _world – Starscream."

"We can explore as humans with the relics."

"What about the Autobots?"

"Megatron and the Nemesis have left Earth – he needs more soldiers, more officers. The war is suspended, and we're going to make the most of that. They can always call if they need us."

Eva watched Starscream's mouth split into a grin, and she chuckled.

Then he kissed her. It was loving – wonderful. She allowed him to carry her, touch her. They slept that night, together. It was different, no metal or sparks. Just bare skin, lips. He still knew where to touch her, and she still knew where to touch him.

"Was there wine…in the cabinet?"

"Eva, this isn't the time."

Starscream's teeth were scraping across her throat, and her wrists were pinned to the mattress. He was pleasuring her, over and over, his lips ghosting across her tan flesh, her legs wrapped around him…

He pulled away, rolled over. She was breathing heavily, lying uncovered next to him, the sheets having fallen past her chest to gather at her hips.

"I've never admired human anatomy before."

"I guess we're even. You're pretty nice as a Cybertronian yourself."

He grasped her hand, squeezed. A smile touched his lips, masked by darkness.

"Flatterer."

Starscream chuckled and rolled atop her, covering her with his body – kisses of affection – once more.


	32. Light

**_I do not own Transformers: Prime_**

* * *

_"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."_

-Andre Gide

* * *

"Chronos was billions of years old - trillions. He came from a distant planet far past Cybertron. He could meld through time and space, manipulate it. He was the seed that gave way to gods. They are his children, alive and still on their home planet. Watching. Monitoring the same earth where, thousands of years ago, they would travel to be worshiped, adulated."

"He is a god...like Primus."

"Spawned from Gaia. Gave birth to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."

Optimus glanced at the monitor, rested a hand on Ratchet shoulder plating.

"Did we defeat him?"

"We defeated his physical body. His spirit...his...spark...it's floating out there. It can never die. It will return to its home planet."

"And..."

"Have you ever read Greek myths, Optimus? Zeus, Poseidon, all the gods...tossed Chronos in prison. They did it once, they will do it again. He disrupted the planet they loved so much."

"Prison?"

Ratchet's shoulders bristled, and a low, mean chuckle emitted from deep within his chassis.

"They truly are ancient. He'll be thrown into Tartarus."

Prime tilted his head to the side.

"The Pit, Optimus. The Pit."

* * *

"Are we all set?"

Starscream glanced at Eva, then back at the bed of flowers – five beds of flowers – overlooking the vast expanse of Nevada desert ahead.

"I guess."

"You're getting all emotional, Starscream. _Don't_," Eva glanced at Starscream, wings bristling. Her beautiful orbs met Starscream's crimson optics, and she smiled. "You have the relics, right?"

He nodded, touched the two identical metal rods strapped to his back, a comfortable position for when he was flying.

"Starscream, Eva."

The Seeker turned and found himself standing, face to face, with Optimus Prime. The mech looked haggard, armor in need of a good buffing, but his optics held compassion and forgiveness. He, for once, while in the presence of a "Decepticon," was not on edge.

He trusted them.

"We will never forget our fallen brethren, Prime," Starscream said, voice heavy. He tore his gaze away from the flowers, a memorial to Wheeljack, Knockout, Soundwave, and Dreadwing. "That I swear on my spark."

"And I, too," Eva, Cybertronian and gleaming, placed one hand over her spark and held out the other for Optimus to take. Then, she flustered. "Whoa. Look at me, being all chivalrous. My dad never taught me that."

An array of footsteps caused Optimus to release Eva's hand. Ratchet appeared first, followed by Arcee, who had Jack perched on her shoulder. Bulkhead was with his human, and Bumblebee with his.

"Jack," Eva greeted the boy first.

The teenager waved. "Hi, Miss Bishop."

"You can call me Eva. I may be twenty-three, but I don't act it," her optics softened.

"You're running away from your dad?"

"Yes."

"Won't he come after you?" Arcee added, looking Eva up and down. Starscream hadn't been particularly attentive when it came to Arcee. The two femmes rarely interacted, but Starscream could see something in Arcee's optics, as well as Eva's.

Mutual respect.

_Well, whaddya know…_

"He can try. I left him a note," Eva grinned sheepishly. "I told him everything. Everything from the moment I met Starscream, to the moment said Seeker tore off Chronos's head. I told him that he had to let his little girl go, that she was all grown up."

Starscream absently touched the small of Eva's back.

"Brave," Jack said hoarsely.

Eva stared at the sad, broken boy before speaking directly to Arcee. "Take care of him," she said. "Be there for him – my mom was never there for me. A child needs their mother."

Arcee nodded. "We're his family now."

Eva stepped away, went to wait by the edge of the cliff.

Starscream stared at her back for a brief moment, before turning back to Optimus. "We're travelling around this planet," Starscream cycled his vents. "I've grown accustomed to it…Cybertron seems like a distant dream," he narrowed his optics. "You and your soldiers. What are you going to do?"

"If you haven't noticed, we're out of the job," Bulkhead rumbled. Miko nodded in understanding.

"Megatron will return."

"_Yes_," Ratchet answered coolly, "But the question is _when_, and with how many officers."

Starscream acknowledged Ratchet with a nod of his helm. "Consider it a kind gesture…Eva and I belong to no faction as of now. We will decide where we stand, when the time comes. Just remember, I never liked Megatron."

"You've gained a sense of who you are…"

"Correct. And I have…." Starscream paused, tilted his head. His optics fell over Wheeljack's bed of flowers.

He stifled back a sudden sob.

"I have one of you to thank. I learned to let the dead bury the dead, Prime. You should learn the same," he began to back away. "My allegiance lies with Eva, and her allegiance lies with me."

Prime gave a simple nod. "I am content with the way this ended."

"Aren't we all?"

Starscream offered a final wave, turned his back on the Cybertronian before him, faced the one he wanted to be with most.

"Italy it is, then," she said, a grin gracing her curved lip plates. "Italian food. Yum. You're going to love it."

Starscream was silent.

"Sweetspark – _yes_ I invented a Cybertronian version of sweetheart – are you alright?"

"I'm pleased…that I was turned into a human. I'm really, really pleased."

"Knew it. Called it!" Eva's wings perked up, red paint glowing in the sinking sun. "You've learned a lesson. Primus, it took you long enough, but you've finally learned," she tapped the side of her helm. Her voice suddenly dropped to a mere whisper. "I knew it. I love you. I knew you would accomplish wonders from the moment I first saw you, put a gun to your head in the forest that day."

"You knew who I was?"

"I had an idea. I'm insightful like that. Dad never took advantage of it," she smiled ."It was fun watching you learn, watching you become…human, for once. You uncorrupted yourself. All that hate, all those feelings of revenge are gone, and if that wasn't true, I would be dead right now and you'd be in Pompeii or whatever without me."

Starscream gripped the back of her neck and kissed her before everyone, Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, all of them.

Eva pulled away and extended an arm. "You can face the world, my Seeker. The question is…are _you_ ready?"

Starscream nodded, grasped her hand.

He didn't let go.

* * *

**Finally...how long has this series been running? A year? **

**Thank you all, lovely readers, for sticking with it this long. You've been my inspiration. This was, honestly, the most brutally difficult series to write.**

**Anywho, I hope you got a kick out of Starscream and Eva, June Darby, Howard, Jack and Arcee, Bulkhead and Miko. Chronos, Barghest, Cerberus, All of them. I might have a few oneshots up, so look out for those.**

**See ya soon! :)**


End file.
